And Now They've Bombs
by Jude Rigby
Summary: After an explosion on the beach, Castle and Beckett join Chief Davis in an investigation that brings the chief's past in Albany to the Hamptons. The three search desperately for the bomber to prevent anyone else from being murdered but find that the killer is bent on harming more people, even those they love. Twenty-eighth in the Beware Of Darkness series. Caskett pairing. Complete
1. Prologue- It Won't Be Long

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The title of this story is a lyric from the song _Save The World_ by George Harrison, from his album _Somewhere in England_. The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Great Day_ by Paul McCartney, from his album _Flaming Pie_.

It Won't Be Long

Trying to straighten her back Beckett did her best not to groan and alert her husband to her predicament but that became moot as he stepped out to find her leaning against the wall. "I-" she started to say.

"I thought you were having some problems with your back," Castle said as he walked quickly over to her. He helped her off the wall and then rubbed her back saying, "There?"

"Yeah, thank you," Beckett sighed as he managed to find where she was feeling the worst of the aching. She placed her hand on her abdomen that was very distinctly curved out as she was just past five and a half months. She smiled as the baby was moving around then and said, "She can't keep still."

"No?" Castle asked before she nodded. He stopped rubbing her back and said, "Do you need any help?"

"I'm fine," Beckett replied before she gently brushed her lips against his. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Castle said before she went into the bathroom to change. As the door closed behind her he went over to the table where their photos were and picked up the one that had the ultrasound of the baby they'd gotten the week before. He smiled at the slightly bigger baby in it and he was studying it for so long that his wife was soon coming out to him. "Hey," he said.

"It's hard to believe," Beckett said, knowing what he was thinking when she saw what he had in his hand. "We should go get them up."

"Right," Castle said, reluctantly putting the picture down. "Are you sure you want to go to the dog park? Shouldn't we wait until after we get the new dog?"

"No, she needs to get used to us first," Beckett replied. "And you're too persuasive Rick."

"You don't mind that all the time," Castle said.

Her cheeks heating up Beckett paused with her hand on the doorknob and said, "I wasn't… quite satisfied."

"No but it wasn't that bad," Castle pointed out, reminding her of the night before. She'd been especially amorous, and he had gone along with it happily, convincing her to allow him to use her vibrator on her after their second time together. He'd wanted to experiment with her hypersensitivity and it had ended up triggering a nearly explosive orgasm from her that she'd had to take some time to recover from. "Um," he said, shaking himself. "We should go."

"Yes, but I'm already thinking about tonight," Beckett said. When an eager expression spread across his face she smiled and leaned against him, kissing him tenderly on the lips before he responded. When they finally parted she opened the door and they went down the hall to their daughters' rooms with her going inside Julia's first.

"Morning Mommy," the girl said with a smile. "Is it the nineteenth yet?"

"Yes," Beckett replied. "You didn't see check out your calendar?" she asked nodding to her daughter's horse calendar that was for January.

"I did," Julia said. "Are you okay Mommy?"

"I'm fine but we need to eat breakfast so we can go," Beckett said, sitting on the bed as her oldest hurried over to her closet to pick out what she was going to wear. "Get something warm," she suggested.

"I know," Julia replied with a smile. "How about this?" she asked, showing her mother the long-sleeved shirt she had with a horse rearing up on it.

"Sure," Beckett said with a nod before she then watched her daughter start to change. She was tempted to tell her what she needed to do when they got back home but held back as Julia was finishing and starting to speak.

"I counted how long until my birthday," the girl admitted.

"You want to turn eleven?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"Yeah and it's almost two months now," Julia said. "I wish it wasn't on a Tuesday."

"We'll do something before that," Beckett promised her as she started to brush her hair.

"Mommy?" Julia asked.

"Yes sweetie?" Beckett replied, combing through the locks gently.

"Will you still brush my hair when I turn eleven?" Julia said.

"Whenever you want me to just let me know," Beckett said. "Even when you're older than eleven."

Julia waited for her mother to finish brushing her hair before she turned around and threw her arms around her neck saying, "Thanks Mommy."

"You're welcome and that's your daddy and sister," Beckett said, standing up from the bed at the knock on the door. Going over to it she let her oldest open it before Julia was greeting Castle and Eliza and she herself took the little girl by the hand to take her downstairs after she'd said good morning to her. She followed Castle and Julia down to the kitchen where she watched her husband begin to gather what he wanted to make their breakfast as they watched.

"What are we gonna have Daddy? And can I help?" Julia asked.

"You know what you can help me right now with?" Castle asked her in response. When she suddenly moved away from him he watched her in surprise before she was going to her mother.

"Mommy you can sit," Julia said, not realizing her tone of voice was firm.

"But-" Beckett started to say, startled at her daughter's tone.

"Yeah Mommy, for the baby," Eliza said. "We can take care of everything."

Unable to help laughing softly Beckett sat down at her chair and said, "I should have expected it.

"I know love," Castle said. "Before you help me with the pancakes," he told Julia as she'd hurried back to him. "You need to help me get everything to the table so your sister can set it."

"All by myself?" Eliza asked eagerly.

"All by yourself," Castle said with a smile before he leaned over and kissed the side of her head to her giggle. He and Julia were quick to get the plates, forks and glasses to the table before he brought the girl back with him and they began to make the pancakes together though she was adept on her own by then and was doing most of the work while he helped when she needed it.

"Do you need help sweetie?" Beckett was asking Eliza.

"No," the little girl said simply, smiling at her as she was carrying the last plate to her father's spot. She then quickly set out the napkins and forks before she moved last to the glasses and got those ready. "The table is set," Eliza told her father.

"The pancakes are and now the eggs," Julia said as she took the plate with the latter over to the table.

"Any…" Beckett started to say before she saw that her husband had a plate of sausage in his other hand.

After everything was ready Castle sat down with his family and they began to eat, watching his wife as she was talking to the girls about their plans for the day. When they were finished he cleared the table with Julia's help and said, "You two are okay we're not going anywhere big?"

"Aren't we gonna tonight Daddy?" Julia asked as she handed him a glass to wash.

"True," Castle said thoughtfully though they were just going to a simpler restaurant for dinner. He glanced down the hall, seeing Beckett and Eliza were getting the dogs ready for their walk to the park, and then said, "We should hurry."

"I know," Julia said with a smile. "Mommy's okay right?"

"She is, but when she gets further along we'll help out more okay?" Castle asked her.

"Yeah," Julia said, nodding rapidly before her father finished drying the last item which was a fork and they hurried to her mother and sister.

Since Beckett and Eliza had already been ready the family walked out of the house and made their way over to the dog park that was near the house.

"There are lots of doggies," Eliza said as she looked at the enclosed part of the park.

"I know, they know too," Beckett said, whistling gently at JoJo as she was holding him, and he was pulling at his leash.

"We're almost there guys," Castle told them before they were inside the outer enclosure. There he helped Julia get Macca off his leash before he unhooked JoJo from his and last he got Rita off her own. "Go on you guys," he told the three as he opened the gate to the side of the dog park for the big dogs.

"They need more exercise," Beckett commented as they watched the three sprinting off, JoJo soon taking the lead.

"And friends," Eliza said as the other dogs were going after them. When her sister laughed she began to giggle herself and she said, "Let's go."

"Yeah," Julia said, nodding her head rapidly before they took off after their dogs.

"Watch where you step!" Beckett called as her husband was leading her over to one of the picnic tables there were. She sat down and watched their daughters walking with the three dogs when they stopped running and she looked over as he asked her a question.

"They'll like this dog, right?" Castle said.

With a smile Beckett said, "I think so, she looks a lot like Macca."

"That's true," Castle replied. "But where will this dog sleep?"

"With Eliza for now but we need to get her used to the baby's room," Beckett said. "Stay in there for a while with her while we're at home without the girls, that kind of thing."

Castle nodded before he said, " _Are you ready to talk to her_?"

Beckett took in a deep breath before she said, " _Not particularly but I want to make sure that she knows. I want to tell her, not her teacher_."

" _While I'm getting lunch ready_?" Castle asked.

Beckett nodded and said, " _What about_ Eliza?"

" _I'll ask her to take care of the dogs_ ," Castle replied with a smile. " _All on her own_."

With a smile Beckett squeezed her husband's hand before she heard their names being called and she turned with him to see it was an acquaintance; and also a fan; they had in town. She glanced at her husband when the man asked about their next book and let him answer at first before she joined in as well.

"Who's talking to Mommy and Daddy?" Eliza asked as she watched their dogs run after others after a tennis ball.

"Oh… that's Mr. Bledsoe," Julia answered before she looked at the man. "He likes their books."

"Good," Eliza said with a smile. She then asked in a whisper, "When is our little sister gonna kick?"

"I don't know, I hope soon," Julia said. "I'm impatient too."

Eliza nodded and followed her sister as she walked over to the dogs since they had broken off from the group. She and Julia were running around the three, letting them chase them before they would go in a circle to switch it to them chasing the dogs.

Watching the girls do that after for some time Beckett finally said, "We need to get them."

Checking his watch Castle said, "See how great dogs are? They've been running around with them for an hour now."

"I just checked the time Rick," Beckett said wryly. "Go and watch out."

Giving her a mock salute Castle then went out to the girls before he stopped as they were walking to him. "Ready to go?" he asked when they were close enough.

"Yeah, are we gonna get to see the playground?" Julia asked.

"Oh of course," Castle assured them.

"But what about Mommy?" Eliza asked.

"Mommy is fine," Beckett said as she'd been able to hear them. She smiled when the little girl looked at her with slightly wide eyes and said, "I am, I've been sitting this whole time I'll walk around with your daddy while you play."

"Kay. Thank you," Eliza replied with a smile.

"Yeah, thanks," Julia said as they got the dogs onto their leashes and they were soon leaving the dog park to go over to the playground right next to it.

Tying up the dogs' leashes on a bench Castle and Beckett walked back and forth along the edge of the playground, stopping here and there to watch them running over everything. They allowed them to do that as they'd had some bad weather after Darnley and Nkosi had gone back to DC with their kids and they'd been cooped up inside up to that day. But finally, it was nearing noon and they needed to get the two back home before they headed home with the dogs leading the way.

"I'm going to go up now," Beckett said to her husband after they had gotten settled in the house and Julia had gone upstairs to do a little bit of reading that was the last of her homework.

"Yeah, good luck," Castle said, looking at her with a smile. "It'll be alright."

"I know," Beckett said, shaking her head. She then smiled back at him and said, " _She'll still love you_."

" _I know she will_ ," Castle replied before she came over to him. She shared a quick kiss with him before they parted, and he watched her duck into their office before she went to the stairs, kissing Eliza on the forehead on the way.

"Where did Mommy go with her book?" the little girl asked her father as she walked over to him.

"Just reading for a little," Castle replied. "Now I need to make lunch and I need you to do something for me."

"Kay, I can help," Eliza said eagerly.

"Good, think you can watch the dogs for me?" Castle asked her. When she nodded eagerly he watched her hurry to get their Christmas toys before she was throwing them for all three dogs. With a smile he turned his attention to their meal and began to cook quickly, trying not to wonder how things were going upstairs in Julia's room.

When she had reached her daughter's door Beckett knocked gently on it before slipping inside at Julia's call.

"Hey Mommy," the girl said, smiling at her as she was putting away her text book in her backpack. "I finished… what's that?" she asked as she saw the large book her mother was holding.

"Something I need to show you," Beckett replied.

"Oh… is it bad?" Julia asked, slightly concerned as her mother had closed the door behind her.

"No but something your little sister is too young to know about yet," Beckett said.

"Oh… Family Life?" Julia asked since her teacher had announced when they'd come back to school from holiday break two weeks before they'd be learning it the first week of February.

"Yes, it's a little soon but since your grandfather is coming over next week I decided to do this now," Beckett said.

"Okay," Julia stated, slightly uncertain but also curious.

"Sit with me," Beckett told her, moving to sit on Julia's bed, sliding back so she could lean against the wall. She opened the book on her lap and pausing for a moment to make sure she knew how she wanted to start she told the girl, "So the first thing you should know about is puberty."

"I know what that is," Julia said quickly. "When I start to become a lady."

"A woman," Beckett said with a nod. She proceeded to discuss the scientific part of that using the book for reference and its illustrations and pictures before she said, "But basically you'll begin to grow hair on your body."

"All over?" Julia asked.

"No, here, here and here too," Beckett told her, pointing it out on the main illustration in the book.

"In between your legs?" Julia said, her tone of voice slightly strangled.

"Not all over but yes here," Beckett said, turning the page. When her daughter's eyes widened at the picture of a woman's mound she explained, "It's called pubic hair, but it can be shaved off if that's what you prefer."

"I-I-I-" Julia started to say before she shook her head as she couldn't seem to stop stammering.

"It's okay, I know this is embarrassing but I'm a woman, so I went through this myself," Beckett said, wrapping her arm around her shoulder gently. "So ask whatever you want."

"Do you have that?" Julia whispered.

"No, I shave it but that's because it's what I prefer," Beckett said. "And of course, you know already you'll develop breasts which you've seen in paintings alread-"

"Wait," Julia said quickly as her mother was about to turn the page. "The paintings, they don't show a woman in between her legs or if they do it's smooth but the pictures here have a…."

"A cleft," Beckett said as there had been pictures of that. "And in those days, it was too risqué to show a woman's body in full detail."

"Statues are like that too," Julia said. "But they show her breasts a lot… women's breasts," she added, blushing at saying the word.

"I know but those were alright since of course you couldn't ignore them," Beckett replied. "I had the same thought as you when your grandmama told me this."

"Did you see pictures?" Julia asked. At her mother's nod she asked, "Did you feel embarrassed?" hoping she'd say yes.

"Oh, of course," Beckett replied. "But your grandmama wanted to tell me herself and that's what I want to do for you."

"Thanks," Julia said with a smile. Her mother had turned the page then and she lost her slight grin when she saw the pictures on that page.

"These are some of the ways a pair of fully developed breasts can look," Beckett said. "You won't know what you'll have yet; not until you grow up." When her daughter didn't say anything, she studied her closely and saw that her mouth was slightly open as she was studying the pictures. "You may be a little uncomfortable while they're growing but it's natural."

"Okay," Julia whispered, tearing her eyes away from the pictures though they soon wandered back down to it.

"Now there's one more thing I need to tell you about concerning puberty and it's important," Beckett said. When Julia glanced up at her she explained about menstruation; having no problems talking about that as she'd thought many times about how she would relate that to both her daughters. ' _And your third daughter; you'll need to tell her too_ ,' went through her mind. She then said to Julia as she was finishing, "Whenever you start tell me as soon as possible okay?"

"Okay," the girl echoed slowly. "But… I have to do that every month?"

"You do," Beckett said.

"But… you do that?" Julia asked.

"Not at the moment," Beckett replied. "But that's because I'm pregnant," she added, feeling slightly uncertain as she knew what she would need to explain next.

Sighing Julia said, "I wish I didn't have to."

"We all do," Beckett told her daughter. "But don't worry, you can do what you like to do still even while going through that."

"Good," Julia replied. "So… that's what happens when you don't get pregnant," she began a little shyly. "H-how does the baby get there?"

"I'm going to tell you," Beckett began. "But first you need to understand what happens when a boy goes through puberty." She wasn't surprised when her daughter's cheeks flushed an almost brilliant red, as she could understand her embarrassment, and then began to tell her about what a boy's puberty process was. When she had finished she, slightly reluctantly, allowed Julia to see the pictures that went with the chapter on puberty for boys.

"I… huh," Julia said, tilting her head.

Not surprised at Julia's slightly wrinkled nose Beckett said, "What is it?"

"Well… the statues are kinda right…" Julia said. "But," she started to say before pausing. She then bit her lower lip and when her mother asked her what was wrong she said, "We have something that goes in us and the boys have something that goes out."

"And this is where I answer your question about how a woman gets pregnant," Beckett said. She explained sex to her daughter, having studied the book closely for that to help her. When she finished she saw the distraught look on her daughter's face and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I don't have to do that do I?" Julia asked.

"No, not until you're an adult I hope and only if you want to," Beckett said.

"But what if a boy doesn't listen to me?" Julia said.

Beckett then explained about what she could do to protect herself and finally said, "Once I have the baby then I'll start teaching you more about self-defense."

"Okay," Julia whispered.

"What is it?" Beckett asked, slightly concerned by the still flustered expression on her face.

"The baby… you…" Julia said before she snapped her mouth shut.

"Now you know the mechanics of it," Beckett replied. "There's a few other things I should tell you before I explain about your dad and I," she said, not sure why she'd said dad instead of daddy as she usually did. She then talked about self-gratification, birth control and protection; she and Castle deciding Julia should know the latter two so curiosity wouldn't overcome her though they didn't think she'd want to be with a boy yet and definitely not as young as she was. But they wanted to be sure, so she told her and finally explained about the concept of making love when she'd finished.

"Oh… that's nice," Julia said a little shyly as her mother had said that Castle liked to think of it as their souls coming together as one. "You and Daddy are only with each other."

"I really don't want to be with another man again and he doesn't want to be with another woman," Beckett said with a nod. "But of course, that's something we keep private."

"Everyone does that? Keeps it private?" Julia asked. When her mother nodded she said, "Mommy I think there's something wrong with me."

"Oh?" Beckett asked, wondering what she meant exactly.

"Yeah, I think it's gross," Julia said. She sighed and then said, "It's 'cause I'm little still right?"

"Maybe," Beckett said.

"Mommy, now that I know what… sex is," Julia began slowly, embarrassed using the word. "Can I ask something?"

"Go ahead," Beckett said easily.

Nodding Julia said, "What happens when you have the same… things that your…"

"Lover," Beckett supplied quickly.

"When they're the same as you?" Julia asked in a rush.

Though she'd kept it in mind Beckett hadn't been sure if she would need to discuss same sex relationships. She and Castle had already discussed the idea with Skye and Mary and they had told her to explain an idea of same sex sex but nothing in full detail. And she recalled they'd told her to tell her oldest something else that wasn't going to be in the book they had. Shaking that away she explained what men and women would do with someone the same gender they were, not surprised when Julia looked slightly disgusted by the idea of the type of sex two men could together that she finished with though she did add that two women and a man and women could engage in that as well. She also wasn't surprised when the girl didn't say anything when she finished, waiting to see what she would when she finally started to speak.

"So… they can be together more than kissing," Julia said slowly. When her mother nodded she said, "Thank you for telling me." She thought of something and then asked, "Did Grandmama tell you about that?"

"No, your dad and I thought we should because we thought you'd want to know," Beckett said. "Since we know two couples who are gay."

Feeling her cheeks were warm again Julia said, "I thought about it when you started but I didn't think you would tell me."

"We don't think you should be kept in the dark now you're about to learn this in school," Beckett replied, closing the book. "Now do you want to look at this on your own?"

"C-could I?" Julia asked, stammering slightly. When her mother nodded she took the book and got down from the bed before she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"I almost forgot to tell you, you can't tell your sister about this or Mari either," Beckett said as Julia looked up at her.

"Or any of my friends?" Julia asked. When her mother shook her head she said, "I didn't want to anyway."

"Good, want to come downstairs," Beckett started to say. But before her oldest could reply to that there was a flurry of knocks on the door and she motioned for Julia to put away the book.

Rushing to do so Julia tucked it underneath some notebooks she had in her desk and turned to see her mother opening the door.

"Mari's outside, she wants to play with us and all our doggies," Eliza said as she was standing there.

"What did your daddy say?" Beckett asked.

"That we can play until lunch if you say it's okay," Eliza replied.

"You can," Beckett said. "Go down okay?" When the little girl had gone she turned to Julia before she was hugging her tightly.

"Thanks for telling me Mommy," the girl said before pulling away.

"You're welcome," Beckett said as they stepped out into the hall. "Will you do something for me?"

"Yep," Julia said before going to the stairs to race down them to her mother's shock.

When she got down to the bottom of the staircase Beckett looked to see that Julia was running to where Castle was standing at the side of the island. She watched as their oldest threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Love you Daddy," Julia told him.

"I love you too," Castle replied, relieved she'd done that as he had no idea how she would react to him after what Beckett had told her. "Have fun but please come in when we call or else your mom's going to kill me."

"We will," Julia said with a laugh before she hurried down the hall to the entry. "Thanks Mommy!" she called as she passed her.

"Be careful," Beckett said though she knew it was unnecessary. She went down the hall to her husband and said, "It went well."

Nodding Castle watched with her as their daughters; bundled up; slipped outside and they looked outside as the two met up with Mari and the Foster's two dogs already there. "Okay, now you can tell me in more detail," he told his wife as he hurried to check on the chicken he was making.

"There's not really much detail," Beckett replied. "She was stunned by what she learned, mostly the idea of pubic hair. But her reaction to that page of pictures of the shapes breasts can take was… interesting."

"Stunned? Interested?" Castle suggested.

"Both? It wasn't so easy to discern, and I wasn't about to ask her," Beckett said. "But she managed to figure out the idea of sex." When her husband looked surprised she explained their conversation then before telling him, "She was a little uneasy hearing that's what we've done," her hand on her stomach.

"But not grossed out fully because she just hugged me," Castle pointed out.

"No," Beckett said with a smile. "I get the feeling she's treating this like I did when I was told about it."

"It's science?" Castle asked. When his wife looked at him in surprise he said, "That's what came to mind when Mother told me, and I was really confused; though intrigued."

Beckett nodded and then told him the rest of what she and Julia had talked about before saying, "I'm glad we asked Skye, she was curious about that especially after I told her about heterosexual sex."

"When will she find out about that kind of sex in detail?" Castle asked.

Breathing out a little hard Beckett said, "Like Skye said, when she's a little older." She frowned slightly while her husband was mixing the chicken, pasta and Alfredo sauce together and told him, "She never asked."

"About you having sex with her father to create her?" Castle said. When she nodded he then said, "She might not want to know."

"Because it's not you," Beckett pointed out.

"I'd love to think that," Castle replied. "But she'll talk to you right?"

"She will," Beckett said with a slight smile. She took her husband's kiss, a quick one, before she said, "I'll call them in." At his nod she went over to the door to the backyard in the middle of the house and called out, "Girls, time for lunch," before she watched the two say goodbye to Mari and race up to her.

"Is it ready I'm hungry," Eliza told her mother with a wide smile.

"It is, how's Mari doing?" Beckett asked.

"Good, she lost another tooth," Julia began.

"She can whistle through it," Eliza said as her mother was helping her take off her coat.

"Your sister could do that too," Beckett said with a smile. She watched as her youngest then rushed over to the hall; guessing she was going to tell Castle about that; before she turned to Julia. "How're you doing sweetie?" she asked.

"Good, I didn't tell Mari," the girl said quickly.

"I wasn't asking that," Beckett said with a smile. "I know you'll keep your promise. But I just wanted to make sure you were okay after what I told you, it was a lot."

"Yeah but I know that it happens to everyone. But I forgot to ask, when will I get…" Julia started to say before she trailed off in embarrassment.

"Your period," Beckett supplied for her. "And don't be too shy about that word, it's a natural thing. As for your question about that it's different."

"What about you?" Julia asked.

"I was fifteen but only a week away from my sixteenth birthday," Beckett answered. "It may be very different for you."

"What about 'lexis?" Julia asked.

Before Beckett could answer Castle was walking up to them and he told them, "Fourteen but a while after that birthday."

"Oh," Julia said, blushing a little. "You told 'lexis about everything didn't you?"

"Yep, so I can answer some things too," Castle replied. "If you want to ask me of course."

"Okay," Julia said.

"We should go and eat though," Castle told his wife. "Lunch is going to get cold and the dog will get here soon."

"Can't we know what we're gonna get?" Julia asked as they went to the kitchen, seeing her sister was setting the table as she'd done that morning. "Hey, I'm supposed to do that too," she said looking at her father.

"You have off today," Castle said. "But tomorrow I expect you to help your sister out," he told her in a mock stern tone of voice that made her smile widely at him.

"I will," Julia said. She went over to her sister as their parents were getting everything in the kitchen and she whispered, "Did you ask Daddy?"

"Yeah but he went to go see you," Eliza replied, frowning. She sighed and said, "He said the doggie was gonna come soon but it takes too long."

"I know," Julia said, nodding her head rapidly.

"She'll be here soon," Beckett said, trying not to show her amusement as she and Castle could hear them very clearly. "Very soon, that's why we're trying to get you guys to hurry so we can eat." She wasn't surprised when her daughters gathered around the table once Julia had washed her hands; Eliza having done so already. She and Castle sat down, and they began to eat lunch, talking with the girls about what they could do before their new dog arrived.

"When the doggie is here we can play with her right?" Eliza asked when they were finished and all taking their plates to the sink.

"Of course," Beckett said.

"For now, you two can play in the family room while you wait for us," Castle told them. "We'll go as fast as we can." When they were alone he started to wash the dishes quickly, glancing at his wife when he handed her what there was to dry. Eventually he asked, "She's moving?" as he'd noticed she had kept touching her stomach.

"A lot," Beckett replied as she was rubbing at her stomach. She shook her head and said, "She's getting some exercise."

"I guess so," Castle said, washing the last plate which was the last thing. "Okay, they'll be happy to know how fast we're going."

Setting the plate down once she had dried it Beckett turned to her husband to reply to what he'd said when suddenly she froze, and her hand flew to her abdomen when she felt a soft tap against it. A second one and she smiled telling her husband who was watching her a little worriedly, "She kicked."

"She did?" Castle asked. When she nodded he hurried the rest of the way over to her and placed his hand on her stomach before she moved it around more to the side. Laying his hand firmly there he waited until finally he felt a gentle tap towards the top of his palm. The smile on his face was broad he knew but he couldn't help it before he said, "That was amazing, just like last time."

Beckett was smiling herself before she said, "We should tell them."

"We should but just a second," Castle said, leaning over and kissing her. He started out gently before he deepened it and held onto her tightly, feeling her abdomen pressing against him. He didn't stop until they slowly parted to take a breath and he leaned his forehead against hers saying, "I love you."

"I love you too Rick," Beckett said with a smile. "Come on," she told him, taking his hand so they could make their way over to the family room.

"I wish we can go back outside," Eliza was saying to her sister.

"I don't think they're gonna let us," Julia replied, sitting down on her knees. "It's too cold."

"And we need to get the dog used… used to the house anyways," Beckett said when she and her husband entered the room.

"What's wrong?" Julia asked, noticing her mother's pause.

"We have some good news for you," Castle said. "Or your mother…"

"No, us," Beckett said with a smile. "Your sister just started to kick." She shared a smile with her husband when their daughters cried out in joy and ran to them. "Hold on," she said, laughter in her voice as they both gently placed their hands on her stomach. "You need to take turns or else you won't feel it."

Though she was a little jealous Julia didn't say anything as she allowed her sister to go first. She knew her parents would remind her that she had felt when Eliza was kicking first and when her little sister suddenly gasped she smiled at the awe on her face.

"I felt it Mommy," Eliza said in amazement. "It was a kick." She then beamed at her mother and said, "That's m- our little sister."

"It is," Beckett said, caressing her hair.

Eliza smiled a little wider and then hugged her mother tightly before she pulled away and pressed a kiss to her stomach saying, "I love you little sister." She looked over at her big sister and said, "You can feel now!"

"Thanks," Julia said, going over to her and laying her hand where her mother directed her to. She hoped; in her mind; that the baby wouldn't stop yet when she felt a gentle tap against her palm. She smiled and kissed Beckett's stomach as well saying, "I love you too little sister." When she stepped away she then said, "You felt it first Daddy?"

"Of course," Castle said. "I was with her when she told me, so I felt her first."

"Are we gonna tell everyone?" Julia asked.

Beckett opened her mouth to speak when the chime for the gate rang; setting off the dogs and making them walk over to the door together so they could see who it was.

"Hello?" Castle asked once he'd pressed the button on the intercom.

"This is the Animal Shelter here to drop off Lady," a woman said on the other end.

"Come on in," Castle replied, pressing the button to open the gate.

"Lady?" Eliza asked.

"That's the name she has right now," Beckett said as she threw on her coat while the girls were getting theirs.

"Am I gonna rename her?" Julia asked as they stepped out onto the porch as a car pulled down the driveway.

"If you'd like, you seem to enjoy it," Castle told her.

"I do," Julia said with a soft laugh. She then turned her attention to the car and watched as he went over to it and the woman brought out a dog with reddish fur from the back of it. "She looks like Macca."

"Thank you so much," Castle was saying then.

"Good thing your dogs are well behaved," the woman replied after they'd shaken hands.

"She's all trained?" Castle asked.

"She is, good luck," the woman replied before she got back into the car.

Castle waited until the gate was closed behind the car before he turned and went up to the porch where the girls were watching him closely. With a smile he said, "Say hello to your little sister's dog. She's a Scottish Deerhound and a turned a year old on New Year's Day."

"You two can go and see her," Beckett said with a smile, pushing on their backs. She was proud of the two when they walked out to the Deerhound and let it sniff their hands before they took turns hugging her.

When the girls had finished Castle led the Deerhound up to the porch and said, "What-" before the dog was suddenly whining and pulling out of his hold.

Beckett was a little startled when it went straight to her stomach, but the Deerhound only began to sniff at it before it suddenly sat, looking up at her and panting slightly. "So, this is the baby's dog," she said, smiling at her husband as he walked up to her.

"She's smiling!" Eliza said.

"We should let the others meet her," Castle suggested.

"Wait, we need to give her a name," Julia said quickly.

"Go ahead," Beckett said, smiling as they were watching her.

Since she'd been thinking about it for a while; though she had also been waiting to see the dog; Julia took a moment before she then said, "Rose."

"Rose?" Beckett asked in slight confusion.

"Yeah, from _Maxwell's Silver Hammer_ ," Julia replied. She then sang shortly, " _Rose and Valerie screaming from the gallery_. Is that okay?"

" _I don't mind_ ," Beckett said in Irish as her husband was looking at her knowing he was thinking of the case they'd had that had involved the song. " _And really that lyric never came up you know_."

" _True_ ," Castle said. "And it is a pretty name," he said in English to the girls.

"But not just Rose," Julia said. She smiled when her parents looked at her in confusion; Eliza merely petting the Deerhound's head; and said, "Rosie instead."

"Perfect," Castle said. "I've always loved that name but don't worry we're not going to use it for the baby."

"He's right, that's Skye's name," Beckett explained. "We'll think of something else," she added, not surprised when the girl looked uncertain.

"Rosie," Julia called. It came to her and she said, "Can I take off her leash."

"Go ahead," Beckett said before she turned to the dogs that she knew were watching the Deerhound. She whistled for all three of them and watched them run out to Rosie, sniffing at her as she did the same to them. The Deerhound yipped before they were all jumping around each other, and she called to them and ushered everyone inside.

"How come the doggies are nice to each other?" Eliza asked once Castle had closed and locked the door.

"Because they've been trained," Castle explained before they looked at the dogs that were standing and just watching them.

"Does Rosie have a leash?" Eliza asked. Before anyone could say anything she added, "Can she sleep with me and Rita until the baby is born?"

"I think you mean collar," Beckett said first.

"And to your second question yes," Castle finished. "But you're going to need to let her sleep in your sister's room."

"Yeah, to protect her like Rita does me," Eliza said, looking at the Hound who came over to her and nuzzled her hand so she pet her. "Oh! We have to show 'lexis… and Gram and Grandpapa too," she said.

"Well, we were going to call them later tonight, but I think we can manage now," Beckett said, looking at her husband.

"Are you going to text and e-mail everyone else?" Castle asked her.

"I didn't last time, I just put it in my replies," Beckett reminded him. "But I suppose I should, everyone's been asking me. First though we need to go and talk to our immediate family."

"Kay, I wanna talk to 'lexis first," Eliza said.

"And that's what we're going to do," Castle assured her, looking at his watch. "Since it's almost six for her over there."

"Is she still at White Mount?" Julia asked as they walked together to the family room.

"No, they left this morning to get back to school; remember their classes start tomorrow," Beckett replied, her stepdaughter and Louis having classes on Mondays but not on Fridays. Because of that they had planned on going to White Mount every Thursday night to Sunday morning, likely because they were both planning to return to the US together when they graduated from Oxford so Louis could see his family as much as possible. Shaking herself of her thoughts she told the girls, "And you two show Rosie her bed okay?"

"Kay," Eliza said eagerly before she and Julia took the four dogs over to the beds against the corner of the room.

"She's ready and eager to see the dog," Castle said as he read the text message his daughter had sent in reply to his. He looked at his wife and said, "The baby will still be kicking the next time she sees us, right?"

"Yes," Beckett answered before she looked with him over at their dogs who were sitting on their beds. "Come on; time to introduce Rosie to your sister."

"And tell her about the baby," Julia said eagerly as they rushed together over to the TV while their father was getting it ready. She watched as the screen went blue and then changed to Alexis, who was smiling at them when she could see them as well.

A little startled at how enthusiastically her sisters were greeting her Alexis smiled and said, "You guys are happy about the dog?"

"More than that," Julia said.

"Yeah! The baby kicked after lunch!" Eliza said happily.

"She did," Beckett said with a smile as her stepdaughter looked to her.

"I'm so glad to hear that," Alexis said. "But I really wish I was there still."

"We do too," Beckett replied. "She'll still be kicking when you come home."

"You're gonna come back right?" Julia asked hopefully.

"Oh of course," Alexis assured them. "We're coming along too."

"We know," Beckett said first.

"And we're looking forward to that too," Castle continued. "You'll have to share with your sisters though."

"Though? Dad, how many times have I shared with them?" Alexis pointed out.

"Would you like to see the dog?" Beckett asked as she knew the two could go on about that for a while.

"Sure," Alexis replied. She looked on as the girls were calling to all the dogs and she quickly spotted the new one saying, "Another Irish Wolfhound?"

"Close, it's a Scottish Deerhound," Castle said.

"What's her name?" Alexis asked as she knew already they were getting a girl dog.

"Rose but we're gonna call her Rosie," Julia answered as Eliza looked at her and she knew their parents were looking at her behind them as well.

"I don't get the connection," Alexis said slowly. "At least not to The Beatles or Paul."

Julia smiled and explained the lyric from the song she'd chosen before saying, "Rosie works better for her."

"It does, she looks very sweet," Alexis replied. "I can't wait to see her in person."

"Us too," Castle said. "So, what have you been up to?"

Alexis smiled before she told them about what she and Louis had been doing since they'd arrived back in England on the tenth; going so early to get used to the time change. There wasn't much she had to relate so when she finished she said, "I feel bad swimming when you guys can't over there, but I know you won't mind."

"No," Julia said first. "But we're still jealous."

"You'll be able to swim soon, don't worry," Alexis said with a laugh. "Now tell me what you got to do until you called me."

Letting the girls take care of that Beckett shifted slightly to get more comfortable when the baby gave a slight kick. She placed her hand on her abdomen and smiled before she realized no one was talking and she said, "What?"

"I was just about to say goodnight when I noticed you," Alexis said. "She's kicking?"

"Just once," Beckett replied. "We'll talk to you soon?"

"Maybe Tuesday since I don't have a class then," Alexis replied. "But until then I love you Jules, Lizzy."

"Love you 'lexis." "Love you too!" Julia and then Eliza told their sister.

"I love you too Dad, Kate. Kate take care of yourself and the baby," Alexis told the two behind the girls.

"I will, I love you too Alexis," Beckett told her.

"Love you kiddo, have fun tomorrow in class," Castle said. When she said goodbye to them he watched his wife text her father and said, "What would he be doing right now?"

"Reading," Beckett said as she had almost instantly got a text back from her father after she had sent one to him. "But he can talk to us now." She looked at the screen of the TV as her husband got the call set up and the blue changed to her father and; surprisingly; Martha as well as both were at the loft.

"The baby kicked," Jim said as soon as he and Castle's mother could see everyone.

"Yes," Castle said slowly. "Why are you at the loft?"

"He's returning that French movie you have here Richard," Martha explained. "I wanted to watch it tonight a little marathon of movies from the director. Your text came just in time and we're in agreement. The baby kicked, didn't she?"

"She did," Beckett said, unable to help her smile as the two were just looking at them. "Just a few times but… she's getting bigger obviously."

"We're very happy to hear that and we wish we could be there," Martha said.

"She's right, I feel like coming sooner next week," Jim commented.

"Come whenever you want to," Castle told them both. "You know this is your home as well."

"Then I will join you on Friday," Martha told them.

"So will I," Jim said.

"Can you?" Beckett asked her father.

"I may be later," Jim said, since he needed to work that day. "But I'd like to get there now as soon as I can." He turned his attention to the girls and asked them, "Are you two happy?"

"Yeah, we go to feel the baby kick," Eliza said in a rush. "Got to," she corrected herself when she realized what she'd said. "Daddy did first but then Jules let me do that first," she said. Turning to her sister she hugged her tightly and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome," Julia said with a soft laugh. "And it reminded me of Lizzy kicking the first time it was really soft."

"She'll get stronger," Castle commented. He then glanced at his wife and said with a slight smirk on his face, "She's going to be part of this family, so she'll need to spur a horse expertly."

Rolling her eyes Beckett said, "Thank you, should I start galloping when she does that?"

"Why not?" Castle said simply before she pushed him over on the couch as he couldn't help laughing. "Sorry," he said to their parents who were watching them.

"That's alright," Martha told them. "Now I notice a new face. Furry but a new face, is this our new grand-dog?"

"Yeah, that's a…" Eliza started to say before she looked back at Castle and Beckett.

"Scottish Deerhound," Beckett said first.

"Did you name her honey?" Jim asked Julia.

Nodding Julia then explained her choice of a name and told them, "I like the name."

"I do too," Martha said.

"So do I, I'm proud of you," Jim added at the end. When his granddaughter looked at him questioningly he smiled and explained, "You managed to get four names for the dogs that had something to do with Paul and The Beatles."

"Really all of them deal with Paul," Martha pointed out to him.

"Of course," Jim said. "How has your day been?"

The girls were again explaining what they'd done since they'd woken up and Castle glanced at his wife while they were doing so. As she shifted for a third time he reached to her back and rubbed the spot he knew was bothering her, feeling her relax under his touch.

"We'll let you go," Martha was saying after she and Jim had told the two what they'd done that day though there hadn't been much for them to relate. "First Kate, I'm happy to hear the baby is doing well and Richard, take care of her."

"I will Mother," Castle said with a nod.

"Thank you, Martha," Beckett said, smiling at her husband for a moment.

"I love you Katie, take care of yourself," Jim told his daughter. "And I'll agree with Martha; take care of her Richard."

"We'll be fine," Beckett said, trying not to laugh as her husband buried his face in his hands.

"Love you Grandpapa, Gram," Julia said then before they could say that to her and her sister.

"Yeah, I love you too Gram and Grandpapa," Eliza added.

"We love you two," Martha replied. "Very much."

"She's right we do love you and watch out for your mom," Jim said.

Beckett was tempted to bury her face in her hands that time but instead said goodbye to her father and mother in law before they hung up the connection. "Either they think I'm fragile-" she started to say.

"Because we want you and the baby to be kay Mommy," Eliza said, hurrying over and placing her hand on her mother's stomach.

"She's still right now," Beckett told her, wrapping her arms around her youngest. "For now," she then said to the others. "We need to give someone a tour of their new home."

"Oh yeah," Julia said eagerly as she looked over at Rosie with the others. "Want to see your new home?"

Castle laughed slightly when Rosie barked; setting off the other dogs and he calmed them down with his wife before they set off for the rest of the house to teach the Deerhound where to go. When they were back in the family room he and Beckett gave the girls Rosie's new toys before they went into the hall to watch them playing fetch with all four dogs in the time they had left before their dinner.


	2. It Won't Be Long (Part 2)

"Sweetie I think it's a little unfair," Beckett said with a smile. "You're dancing a little too fast for her."

"I know but I can't slow down," Julia said with a sigh as she had been trying to dance a Jive with her little sister. They were about to leave _The Studebaker_ after their dinner, but Eliza couldn't keep up. "Sorry," she told her.

"That's kay… can I dance like that later?" the little girl asked.

"When you learn more," Castle told her. "We can go."

"I want to," Eliza said. When her parents both looked at her she smiled and said, "To see the doggies."

"Alright, let's get back then," Beckett said, taking the little girl's hand. She walked ahead of her husband and Julia to their car. She let him drive them home but as they pulled into their garage she told him, "You need to let me drive next time."

"It's not like you're going to forget," Castle replied. "I'll let you drive but we're not to that point yet."

Beckett didn't say anything but got out of the car at the same time he did before they went together to the back to get their daughters out. Inside the house she watched the dogs greeting the two and then said, "We should get them changed."

"Agreed," Castle replied before he went to pick Eliza up while she took Julia by the hand. They made their way upstairs to their rooms where he changed the little girl while his wife was in their oldest's room.

"What're you doing sweetie?" Beckett asked when Julia took a detour from leaving the room to her desk.

"Getting my diary ready," the girl said with a smile. "I really want to write in it."

"I don't blame you, there was a lot today," Beckett said before her daughter came back to her and then took her hand.

"What are we gonna do now?" Julia asked.

"We have some cartoons," Castle said, walking up to them, holding Eliza.

"Okay," Beckett said as she could see the little girl was tired. They'd gotten to the restaurant late and had eaten a little later than they usually did so they'd come home later too. She knew Eliza would fall asleep while they watched but didn't say anything while they made their way downstairs.

"Do you want anything to drink love?" Castle asked his wife.

"Just some tea," Beckett said as she took their youngest from him and set her on her lap as she was sitting on the couch. When he left; after telling her to start watching; she instead cuddled Eliza close to her and said, "You'll have a lot of rest for school tomorrow."

"How come she's so tired?" Julia asked while her little sister was yawning.

Beckett smiled and said, "I think you two running around the dog park, then the playground and then the backyard. And of course in here with the dogs."

"It was fun," Julia said with a smile. She glanced at her mother's abdomen and asked, "Is it weird to carry a baby?"

"The first time it was a little bit but when I felt your sister move for the first time it made more sense," Beckett replied.

"Is she kicking now?" Julia asked.

"No, do you two want to watch the cartoons?" Beckett said. When her oldest shook her head, she was startled and then looked at Eliza, seeing she was out.

"You-" Castle started to say when he entered the room. When Julia shushed him, he glanced at the little girl and saw she was fast asleep. He smiled and said, "I'll take this up to our room in a little bit."

"Are you going to take her to bed?" Julia whispered. When both her parents nodded she reached over and squeezed her sister's shoulder gently, whispering that she loved her. She watched them leave, turning her attention to Macca and JoJo who'd stayed while Rita and Rosie went after them upstairs. She leaned back before Macca put his front paws on the couch next to her and she said, "I can't let you come up here, Mommy and Daddy are gonna come here." She then gasped and said, "Maybe we can watch _Mystery Science Theater_!" With that idea in her mind she waited eagerly for her parents, hearing them soon coming down the stairs and standing up as soon as she did. "Can we watch MST3K?" she asked the second they appeared in the doorway.

Since her husband was looking at her Beckett checked the time and said, "We won't be able to finish it, but we can start it… watch about an hour of it."

"Which episode?" Castle asked her.

"Which one didn't you and Mommy see yet?" Julia asked eagerly. She followed him to their movies and watched him looking at the sets of the show before he held out one to her. " _Werewolf_?" she asked.

"Yep and we've seen all the episodes already," Castle replied.

"We need to see the movies before we can let you sweetie," Beckett said. "And you'll like this one I think."

"I liked the ones I got to see before," Julia said, going to the couch as her father was putting the movie in their player. "Hey Mommy."

"Yes?" Beckett asked as she leaned against her.

"I'm gonna be eleven really soon, can't I watch more episodes?" Julia asked.

"We'll see," Beckett replied as Castle was coming back to them. She wrapped her arm firmly around Julia while the opening of the show started, and she and her husband watched her when they got to the point where the movie was.

Wrinkling her nose after a 'werewolf' appeared Julia glanced at her parents and saw they were watching her. "It looks like a bear," she said.

"It does," Castle said quickly before they turned their attention to the movie again.

When the scene went to a laboratory eventually Julia burst out laughing at the sound of a champagne bottle being opened that sounded like a horn. "Sorry," she said as her father paused it as she couldn't stop. "It sounded like a car!" she told her parents.

"It did," Castle said as Beckett laughed slightly herself. "But there's something coming up you might like. Keep going?" When she nodded rapidly he played and they watched as a security guard was turned into a werewolf before crashing his car and there it cut to where there would have been a commercial if it had been broadcast.

"That was stupid, if he had paws he can't drive," Julia said.

"Werewolves have claws so…" Castle began before he trailed off as he saw his wife was looking at him. Luckily the next segment began, and he could turn his attention to Julia as the three from the show were beginning to sing a fifties girl group song to go with the movie.

Julia had to eventually cover her mouth with her hands as she was laughing hard at the song. She also was laughing as the two robots were dressed in poodle skirts and wigs as well as the host; Mike. When it finished she said to her parents who stopped the episode before it went back to the movie, "That was weird… but the song was good."

"We watched some interviews they did about the show," Beckett said as she and Castle got up. "And they said they liked to have Mike dress as a girl a lot; they showed this clip during that."

"Why would they make him do that?" Julia said in confusion as she let her mother take her hand.

"They joked that he looked so ugly as a woman that it was funny," Castle said.

"Is that mean?" Julia asked.

"A little but he said the same thing too," Beckett replied. They reached her room soon after and she said, "Do you still want to write in your diary?"

"Yeah," Julia said quickly.

"Go ahead, your daddy and I are going to get the tea mugs cleaned downstairs," Beckett told her.

"Thanks," Julia said. She watched her parents leave before she turned her attention to the dogs while they jumped onto the end of her bed. She smiled and went to her desk, taking out her diary and preparing her pen before she paused as she looked at the blank page she was on. Glancing down at the drawer where the book her mother had given her was she took a deep breath and then started to write, beginning with the date.

 _January 19th, 2020_

 _A lot of stuff happened today, I just hope that I have time to write about it all!_

 _Okay, so first I went with Mommy, Daddy and Lizzy to the dog park. Oh, and the dogs too, duh, and me and Lizzy ran around with them- the dogs not Mommy 'cause she's getting bigger now. But it was fun and then me and Lizzy got to go to the playground before we walked back to the house._

 _After while everyone else stayed downstairs I went to finish my homework before lunch and I did that really fast. And then_

Pausing there Julia could feel her cheeks were literally aflame but she knew her writing would stay private, so she continued where she'd stopped.

 _Mommy came upstairs to see me, and she was carrying a big book that's all white, no pictures on the cover but that's really good. She told me about what I'm gonna learn about when we learn about Family Life next month. It was kinda embarrassing 'cause she told me about not just girls growing up but boys too. I know it so I don't want to write it down here, but I guess I will have… breasts too when I grow up. But I bet it's not gonna happen for a while._

Glancing down at herself Julia shook her head and then wrote again, staying on the same paragraph.

 _A long while. But that's okay 'cause I like being a kid still but… and I'm gonna tell you 'cause I'm afraid to tell Daddy and Mommy. It looks like it's scary being a grown up. I guess I should say why but it's embars_

Julia stopped there and went to her dictionary she kept in her desk for homework and checked the spelling of the word before going back to it.

 _embarrassing to write about. Okay, so there's this thing called sex that grownups do together that's a lot more than kissing. It's so gross now I just_

Stopping again Julia quickly checked the spelling of the word she wanted, and that time kept the dictionary out thinking she might need it again.

 _realized that means other grownups I know do that. Bleh. But I guess it makes you happy 'cause Mommy told me about the… um, I don't know how to spell it and it's not in my dictionary but there's a part on girls that helps make it nice. That's not what she said but I'm not writing it 'cause my face is gonna be on fire. Or that she told me when I grow up I can touch it and make myself happy. But she said to wait until I'm ready and…_

Julia bit down hard on her lower lip as she remembered how her mother had explained to her what self-pleasuring was; using that word; but she shook her head and her pen began to write on the paper again.

 _I don't know if I will be grown up enough for that. It sounds like I shouldn't do it yet and- oh! Mommy said she was older too, in high school before she knew what that was like, so I'll wait too. And I'm gonna stop 'cause my face is really on fire now but one thing I'm really scared about._ _I don't like seeing the drawings and pictures of the men in the book. It looks gross but… the stuff for the ladies wasn't strange to me_ _._

Studying her smaller writing in the last two sentences, Julia then shook her head and continued to write though in her normal handwriting.

 _Does that make me weird? Stupid? I think I have to like the first ones because I'm a girl, but Skye and Mary don't I know so_

Julia stopped there, about to scratch out her writing or tear out the page though she'd written her thoughts about the drawings and pictures she'd seen for both genders in the book. But she paused as something told her not to and she decided to finish before she turned the page and moved on.

 _I just don't know yet. I'll be eleven soon so maybe I can know then… maybe my dreams will change then too._

Very quickly Julia turned the page so she was on two blank ones and she started to write again, relieved that her parents weren't there to see her reaction to writing about some of the dreams she'd been having since going to Japan the year before.

 _And then after lunch the_ _most_ _exciting thing happened, my baby sister kicked in my mommy's stomach! Lizzy and I weren't with Mommy when it happened; Daddy was which was good 'cause he's supposed to be the one to feel the baby kicking first. And he did before they came to where me and Lizzy were getting ready to play and they told us. Lizzy got to feel first but I did first when she was in Mommy's tummy, so it was fair. Good thing my sister kicked still when I felt. I can't wait to see her; I'm so excited to have another little sister. I remember carrying Lizzy around when I could do that, and it was fun… It's still another… (Sorry I needed to figure it out) I think three and a half months until she's born. It's too long but I guess she's still gotta grow._

Smiling at the thought of getting to see her littlest sister Julia realized that her parents still hadn't come back to her. She smiled a little bit wider; knowing that her mother was letting her write alone for the moment; and she turned back to her entry so she could finish and find them before they came back up to her. And filling her pen up a little more with ink she started to do just that.

 _And then after that (I said there was a lot today) the lady from the animal shelter brought our newest dog. She's a Scottish Deerhound (I think that's how you spell the second name) and so cute, she looks a little bit like Macca and has red fur too. Her name was Lady, but I decided to name her Rose after Rose and Valerie from the song_ Maxwell's Silver Hammer _. But we're gonna call her Rosie 'cause it's easier to say. I hope my little sister likes that name! But she's gonna stay with Lizzy right now until the baby is here. I guess that's fair, I have Macca and JoJo with me… Think Mommy would let us get another two dogs, so Lizzy and the baby have one each? I gotta stop but I wish; I love having JoJo with me too now. Gonna go find Mommy and Daddy now, they're downstairs still, I'll try and write tomorrow!_

Putting everything away Julia hurried over to the stairs and then went down them quietly, wanting to see what her parents were doing since she knew they were done with cleaning up their mugs. She hid in the shadows when she saw them in the kitchen and smiled as her father was kissing her mother's stomach before he stood up.

"How has it been?" Castle asked her.

"Basically the same as Eliza when she started, here and there," Beckett said. She smiled when the baby kicked near her husband's right hand and said, "That might be it for now."

"Probably," Castle replied, reluctantly letting her go.

"We should go, it's almost time for her to go to bed," Beckett said. She was about to go over to the stairs when her husband grabbed her and turned her around. She smiled for a moment and then wrapped her arms around him tightly before they kissed, relieved when he made it brief. That time she turned fully and saw Julia stepping out from the shadows down the hall. "Did you finish your entry?" she asked her with a smile.

"Yeah, do I need to go to bed?" Julia replied.

"You do, it's only what two minutes?" Castle asked his wife as he was looking at his watch.

"It is," Beckett replied. When they were upstairs in Julia's room she let Castle take her over to the bed before their oldest was sitting on it and looking at them expectantly.

"You don't want to say goodnight to the dogs?" Castle asked her.

"Oh," Julia said before she turned her attention to Macca. She threw her arms around the Wolfhound and told him, "I'm glad you like your new sister. Night Macca I'll see you tomorrow and I'll try to play with you again."

"You can after you work on your homework," Beckett told her.

"Good," Julia said, having a feeling already she and Eliza would want to do that. She kissed the side of Macca's head before hugging JoJo next and telling him, "And I'm glad you like your sister too, night JoJo we'll play tomorrow."

After she had kissed the side of the Greyhound's head Castle sat down and wrapped his arms around her as she snaked her own around his neck. "Happy?" he asked her.

"Yep," Julia said with a smile. "It was… we did a lot today."

"I know," Castle said, pulling away a little bit to look at her. He smiled back and told her, "I love you Julia.

"Love you Daddy, thanks for Rosie," Julia told him.

"You're welcome," Castle said. "But thank your mother more since it was her choice in the end."

Waiting for her husband to share a kiss with their oldest Beckett sat where he'd been and asked, "What's that look for?"

"Couldwegettwomoredogs?" Julia asked in a rush.

At first Castle was as confused as his wife obviously was before he then started to laugh and said, "She asked if we could get two more dogs love."

"So your sisters have two each too?" Beckett asked. When Julia nodded she said, "I don't think so sweetie. Four dogs is… a lot so we'll stop there."

"Okay," Julia said with a sigh. She then smiled at her mother and hugged her tightly before saying, "Thank you for talking to me Mommy," in a whisper.

"You're welcome," Beckett replied, kissing her temple as she embraced her back.

"And for Rosie and for letting us feel the baby kick," Julia said.

Beckett laughed softly and said, "You're right there was a lot for us today. But I'm glad you're happy."

"Yep," Julia said before she hugged her mother again. "I love you Mommy," she told her seriously.

"I love you too Julia," Beckett said. She shared a kiss with her and said, "You're growing up so fast."

"Not that fast," Julia whispered shyly.

"We still remember you when you were a little girl," Castle told her. "And we always remember-"

"So we notice how much you grow up," Beckett said with a smile. "And you're becoming a wonderful young lady."

Julia felt her cheeks were on fire yet again before she said, "Thanks." Her parents both hugged her before her mother had her lay down and then tucked her in with Macca and JoJo on either side of her. She watched them leave and then sighed, looking up at the ceiling in the dark before she fell asleep, wondering what she'd end up dreaming that night after everything that had happened that day.

* * *

Inside the bathroom Beckett looked at her reflection while she was buttoning her husband's shirt in the middle. She had excused herself for a moment to change, ostensibly into her pajamas but was instead putting on one of his shirts that she'd grabbed. She had no real idea why exactly he liked seeing her in them; especially while she was pregnant; but she didn't mind doing that for him. She stepped out into the room, seeing her husband was turning on the fireplace and she said, "We're not going right to bed?"

Whirling around at her voice Castle had something right on the tip of his tongue to say when he froze as he saw her. "You… you're p-" he began before he rushed over to her. Before she could really react, he had her in his arms and he was kissing her as deeply as he possibly could. He was pleased when she responded to him eagerly and they were running their hands over each other. As the kiss continued for a little longer he couldn't help becoming a little frustrated by their clothes but finally they stopped, and he said, "Anything you want to do first?"

Beckett merely smiled at him before she led him over to the bed before she let him get onto it first. She followed and sat on her knees with a wide smile before she said, "What would you like?"

"Oh no," Castle said quickly. "You can-" he began before his wife was covering his mouth with her hand.

When her husband gave her a look she said firmly, "What do you want?"

Breathing out; as he knew from her tone she wasn't going to let him get out of that Castle finally said, "Whatever you want."

Rolling her eyes Beckett said, "That's cheating."

"It's true though," Castle replied with a shrug.

About to protest again Beckett paused and something came to mind before she smiled, not surprised it obviously startled her husband. She reached up to the shirt and said, "Then what I'd like is to do what I know you'd enjoy."

Castle knew he would have normally protested that but he couldn't form the words as his wife was unbuttoning the shirt and shortly after opening it so she could spread it a bit. Her body exposed to him he was breathing roughly staring at her hungrily. "I… think I have a request," he said, gulping as he found himself literally drooling.

"Come here," Beckett said with a smile before she lay down. She wasn't surprised when he leaned down to her immediately but was when he kissed her instead of going to her breasts as she'd thought he would do. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and responded to him, her lips still a little swollen after their first kiss. But that didn't stop her from fighting eagerly with his tongue before they stopped pretending to struggle and instead rolled together to taste one another. When he moved down to her neck she sighed in pleasure as at the same time his hand was gently sliding around her clit.

Castle was very careful with what he was touching, being as gentle as he could before he moved while he was pulling away from her. He was a little annoyed at himself for not thinking of it in the first place, but he swiftly tucked as many pillows behind her back as he could before he said, "Who's going to be on-"

"You," Beckett said firmly before he could finish as she knew already what he was going to ask. She was relieved when he nodded; knowing they were getting closer to the point where she would have to be on top to make sure he wouldn't be continuously worried about the baby; and watched him lean down to start trailing his lips over her skin. She tried not to cry out too loudly as he slid them eventually, waiting anxiously for him to finally reach her breasts that were already aching for him to take them.

When he heard the cry from his wife the second he brushed his lips over her right breast Castle felt a thrill rush through him and he kissed around her nipple a few times before he was repeating the same action on her other mound. After he'd finished he pulled away and smiled at her before saying, "Keep going?" He was a little startled when she merely nodded at him but guessed she was trying to handle what he was doing to her. So he bowed his head again and that time flicked his tongue out to just barely nudge against her nipple. She still reacted, arching her back heavily, and he couldn't stop himself from taking the nub into his mouth. He tried his best to control himself, gently suckling at her before he felt her hands holding onto the back of his head, fingers sliding through his hair.

Beckett had a brief respite from the onslaught of pleasure her husband was causing in her when he moved to her other breast but as soon as he reached the other it started all over again. "Oh… Rick," she gasped out in her joy. "Please…"

Though he wanted to ask her what she wanted Castle wasn't stopping since he already knew what she would say. He pulled away eventually but nuzzled her nipple there with his nose, making her whimper for a moment. He moved away fully from her and looking down at her said, "Now you do need to say what we're doing next."

Recovered then Beckett was able to smile, and she told him, "Maybe we should hold on for a minute."

"Okay, what would you like to do?" Castle asked.

"Take off your clothes," Beckett told him firmly.

"Will you help me or am I on my own?" Castle replied. When his wife just stared at him he smiled and got off the bed, taking off his pajama shirt before he removed his pants and was about to reach for his boxers to take them off before she was grasping onto the waistband of them, pulling him to her as she'd gotten up.

"Maybe I'll help you with these," Beckett said with a smile. But instead of taking them off she tugged him down to her and wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could when he landed slightly on top of her. They were quickly after kissing and tilting their heads back and forth while they were dueling with their tongues.

After a few more rough, hungry kisses like the first Castle moved away from her slowly and said, "Maybe we should start."

"We should but I like this part too," Beckett said.

"The foreplay part?" Castle asked. When she just smiled he couldn't stop himself and kissed her once more, roughly and deeply. His lips were swollen when they parted, and he told her, "I do as well but… I think I want something else."

Beckett asked him what that was when he pushed himself up off the bed and then went over to her nightstand. "Oh… again?" she asked when she saw her vibrator in his hand.

"Yes," Castle replied with a smile. He got on top of her and was going to have her take off his shirt when she was snatching the toy from his hand. "You-" he began to say.

"I think it's your turn," Beckett said. "Take those off and lay down."

Castle quickly did so; needing to get off the bed to do so; before he lay against the pillows as she'd been doing. He was about to ask her something when she was speaking and answering his question without him having to say a word.

"I'll take care of you," Beckett replied. She turned the vibrator on and with a smile began to run it around her husband's erection that was lying against his stomach. She smiled briefly at the way his eyes shut tightly while he was groaning in pleasure and she was careful running it around him. She had it on low as she didn't want to set him off instantly but wasn't easing up on running it around him from tip to base.

"Wait, not… I'm going to come," Castle groaned as he grabbed her wrist and pulled her arm away from him. "Sorry it was… a lot," he told her as she studied him. "Yes, I know I'm weak," he said in slight annoyance since she'd continued to stare at him. "But-"

"I know you're not used to it," Beckett replied. "And sometimes I'm not either so don't worry." She smiled and caressed his cheek telling him, "Should I keep going?"

"Is that what you want to do?" Castle asked. "Wait," he said when he saw the expression on her face and realized she'd gotten an idea. "You-"

Beckett cut him off with another kiss and when she finally pulled away told him, "Something for us both," simply. Before he could say anything to that she was moving in between them and turning it on. She had to spread her legs a little more so it was nestled against her clit, but he helped her by making sure the toy was touching his length as well. The pleasure was swift, and she couldn't stop herself from moving on him, moaning deeply while her husband held onto her tightly by her arms and was soon thrusting against her as well adding to what they were already feeling.

Castle was holding onto his wife desperately while they moved against one another and the vibrator. It wasn't the first time they'd done that before, but it had been some time since the last and he realized he'd forgotten how much he enjoyed it. He soon started to kiss her, taking her tongue before she teased him by pulling her head away slightly. He was quick to go after her and take her lips again, their tongues hungry against each other as they tasted one another again. When they'd stopped he leaned over enough to take her left ear lobe with his teeth, feeling her jerking hard against him and crying out in pleasure. He knew she was close so he started to reach down to move the vibrator out of the way, but she was doing it herself, tossing it aside once it was off and almost slamming herself down on him. As she came close to screaming he was groaning and they made one thrust together that made their hips smack together. They were climaxing nearly together; her a little ahead of him; and he groaned as his hands clasped tight on the small of her back. He was being driven literally crazy by her, the sensation of her trying to take everything he was giving her making him clutch at her as an anchor. He felt her stop first eventually, slumped against him the best she could, and he was following her, groaning her name in pleasure.

"That wasn't too bad," Beckett told him teasingly and with a smile. She gasped slightly as he began to kiss at her neck but held onto him to hold him where he was until he moved away from her. They stared at each other for a while before she leaned into him and they were soon kissing passionately, holding onto each other tightly again though that time they were running their nails over each other's back. "That's the last time I'm on top tonight," she said once they had stopped.

"When we come?" Castle asked. She nodded, and he kissed her forehead tenderly before moving down to her lips. He took those gently that time, feeling the vibration of her moan of pleasure before their tongues were meeting inside of her mouth. He lingered, as he wanted it to be a sensuous kiss as well, until they had to breathe. He smiled at her and said, "So what would you like now?"

"I'm not moving right now," Beckett replied. When he looked at her she said, "You can."

"Okay," Castle said before he flipped them around, trying to be as careful as he could. But when he stopped she was fine and propped up enough for him to lean down and kiss her deeply on the lips. When they parted shortly after he said, "Are you ready?"

"Not yet," Beckett said. "I trust you," she told him quickly when she saw the question on his lips. She waited eagerly then, wondering what he would do to help her regain her arousal.

Castle had been unsure of what to do at first but finally decided the simplest method was the best. He reached down and very carefully used his first two fingers to rub against her clit. He made sure the palm of his hand was pressed against her body and began to move it carefully at first. He was watching her closely as he was pleasuring her, not surprised that she was reacting immediately. She began to move, and he tried not to bite into his lip as that was quick to affect him and he tried his best not to start moving with her. Luckily, he was able to hold himself back and he soon stopped touching her as he didn't want it to be too much. "Okay?" he asked.

"Kiss me first," Beckett told him with a smile. "And then think of how you're going to put my legs." She wasn't surprised when her husband hesitated so she grabbed for him and pulled him down to her so they could kiss. She wrapped her arms tightly around his neck as soon as their lips met, and she sank her tongue into his mouth before he could do that to her. They spent some time kissing; as neither she nor Castle could stop with just one; and when they parted she said, "Did you get it?"

"Yes," Castle said simply with a smile. He brushed his lips to hers before he murmured into her ear. As she was moving her legs he nibbled gently on her ear lobe, loving the way she was crying out softly in reaction before he felt she was ready. " _I adore you_ ," he said seriously as he made sure he wasn't pressing down on her abdomen too much. With her right leg under his arm that he was holding, her left wrapped just a little under his ass, he began to move, right as she was speaking as he couldn't wait any longer to do so.

"Oh! Rick, _I adore you too_!" Beckett moaned as he was getting deep within her instantly. She was holding onto the bed with her right hand and she clutched at his shoulder with her other, trying to use the bed to give her a little leverage to thrust. It took a little effort but finally she was able to thrust against him and their hips slapped a bit though he had more force. She closed her eyes to let everything overwhelm her and she knew she wasn't going to last long if they stayed like that for much longer. She tried to tell her husband that, but she couldn't speak as he was moving her leg and at nearly the same time kissing her passionately.

With extra access to his wife Castle spent some time around her lips before he moved back and was just staring at her as he thrust within her. As he liked to do he was varying his thrusts, hoping it wouldn't be too much for her just yet. He kept his eyes on her as he wanted to see what she was going through. But it soon became too difficult to keep his own eyes open and he closed them which wasn't too much of a loss as it left his sense of feeling her to grow. She was very eager he could tell and with how wet she was he was moving easily. Eventually it became too easy and he was sliding next along her clit, groaning as she was crying out.

"Wait, not yet," Beckett said, stopping him from grabbing his member to enter her again. "I… need a little more time. We haven't been together for that long anyway."

Nodding Castle let her move her legs and then sat up with her so they could kiss deeply before they parted, and he murmured to her, "This is nice."

"Are you sure? I thought you'd be livid you need to wait," Beckett said, nuzzling her nose against his.

"No, I'm fine," Castle said, shaking his head quickly. "I don't want this to be fast anyways."

"It's funny that you wouldn't," Beckett replied.

"Well there are times when we're quick," Castle pointed out. "And this is not one of those times."

"What if I said that's what I wanted next?" Beckett asked him.

Clenching his teeth together hard Castle couldn't answer as he was reacting to her running her index finger along his length slowly. "Kate," he finally managed to say through the haze of pleasure she was producing in him. "Okay," he finally said, snapping and grabbing her wrists. He did his best not to do so too tightly and he told her, "I can't wait anymore. And as for after if you want me to ravage you, literally, as fast as I can I will. For now…"

Beckett allowed him to push her to the bed though halfway down she took over before wrapping her legs around his waist. As he slipped inside of her once more she moaned deeply in her joy at the sensation of them coupled again and once she could feel his hips against her own he moved. Since she was ready for him she moved with him and cried out softly at first before she pushed herself up on her hands. That helped her get closer to him and helped her move her hips against him though she still couldn't move enough for her taste. But she didn't want to stop or move them around so she went along with it, distracting herself by reaching up with her right hand to caress her husband's chest.

With a heavy groan Castle stopped thrusting, not surprised when she protested that. He leaned down and kissed her gently to stop her from continuing before he said, "Want to keep going?"

"No," Beckett said with a smile that was very brief. She pressed her lips gently against his and then said softly, "I just miss feeling your cock moving inside my pussy."

Breathing out a, "Ha," Castle didn't let her react as he leaned down and kissed her as hard as he possibly could. While her tongue was tangling around his he thrust hard and groaned as she cried out; their lips still locked together; from there he worked up to a swift rhythm though he was careful not to go too fast against her. He wanted to draw things out as much as possible, but it was difficult, and he suddenly got an idea, moving her around so she was straddling him as he wrapped his arms around her tightly.

Beckett didn't protest that change, merely beginning to move with him while they started to kiss again. She could feel his hands running around her back and she suddenly had a strong desire, pulling away from him telling him, "You have your chance."

Without saying a word Castle dove down to her breasts and he proceeded to suckle at her right nipple, feeling her faltering before she got back to her rhythm. He was attentive before he moved to the other and repeated the same action to that nub. She was moaning and crying out heavily to him and he did that for a while longer before moving away and kissing her firmly on the lips. When they parted he moved her onto her back and told her, "I forgot to tell you I love taking your pussy with my cock."

"As hard as you can," Beckett told him.

"As hard I can," Castle replied, nearly breathless in anticipation before they were moving together even harder and faster. They kissed; as she was on her elbows; and he tried to angle his hips down deciding he would work to get them to the edge from then on instead of delaying things. And as they continued he realized that she wanted the same as she lay full on her back and was holding onto him, her nails digging into his shoulders.

Beckett was arching her neck as her husband kissed around it and she reached up to run her fingers through his hair and down his scalp. The way he shuddered against her nearly set her off and she had no idea how exactly she kept herself from flying over the edge. The friction between them was intense and she wanted to tell him to move faster since she wanted to continue to feel that. But he was leaning down to her to kiss her so she never got the chance though she found she didn't really mind in the end. She just held onto him and moved with him the best she could though as her pleasure was building up she found it more and more difficult.

"Kate… love are you close?" Castle groaned as he knew why she was faltering.

"Yes… I… please tell… tell me that… we've been doing this for… a while!" Beckett cried out heavily as she was nearly scratching at his skin.

"Yes… at least half…" Castle began before he slowed down a bit. He wasn't surprised when his wife groaned but realized at her statement he wasn't sure how long they'd been moving. He knew it was a while, but his slowing down was a way to draw it out. Finally, her heels knocking hard against his ass spurred him and he groaned, "I'll… fuck you as long… as you want Kate. Just… come for me now… I want to feel you."

The tone of Castle's voice was too much and just the fact he was making her sex ache and burn in pleasure, leaving Beckett to follow her body's desire and come heavily. She was trying not to scream but her ecstasy was too much and far too strong, so she couldn't stop herself. But it was short lived as she started to chant his name, interspersing it with curses as everything was intense. When he soon started to orgasm with her she was raking her nails over his skin hard, scraping at it and somehow spurring him to a second climax. She was a little after him as he managed to get her clit at the same time he reached his peak since he was jerking against her so hard. She was clinging to him, only able to do that as she was too tense to do anything else. But she was still feeling all the pleasure he gave her until she went limp, weak on the bed as her husband was taking the last of his pleasure.

Castle was trying to continue to move steadily but he soon lost it and gave a few harder, more jabbing thrusts until he was holding himself up on his hands and knees. "Oh god that was… we needed that," he said breathily though he was more recovered.

"I know," Beckett said with a smile. She sighed when her husband got off her and she watched him move to lie next to her. "Do you remember," she began as she lay on her side and pressed close to him. "Us doing this when I was still carrying Eliza?"

"Of course," Castle said. He shifted and said, "Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Beckett asked, sitting up as he was doing so.

"My back, I don't know if you scratched too hard," Castle replied.

Beckett bit at her lower lip before she checked his skin on his shoulders, seeing the marks that she had left. "You're not bleeding," she reassured him, gently running her fingers over the red. "But I left some lines here."

"Well as long as I'm not bleeding," Castle said with a smile. He expected his wife to stop so they could lie down again but she was continuing to touch him, and he finally had to stop her. "You want to now?" he asked her as he turned to look at her.

"Okay," Beckett replied. When her husband looked at her with wide eyes she threw herself at him and kissed him hungrily before she was moving to straddle him at the same time. As soon as they were ready she let him help her down onto his erection that hadn't really dissipated, moaning in joy since she hadn't lost her arousal fully. She then moved once and that seemed to set them off, making them hold onto each other and kiss before she told him to move them both.

Castle couldn't deny his wife what she wanted and flipped her onto her back, moving harder within her as he knew she still wanted it to be a quickie. He kissed her and tried his best to pleasure her as much as he could until they were both climaxing roughly and hard, holding onto each other as tightly as they could. When they stopped they were both trembling slightly and panting heavily. "Do you want more?" he asked.

"Yes, but not at this exact moment," Beckett replied with a smile. She waited for her husband to get off her before they both lay on their backs and he wrapped his right arm underneath her so he could rest his hand on the curve of her abdomen. She was about to speak when suddenly he got up and he walked around the bed to the bathroom. "For your back?" she asked as she spotted the lotion in his hand.

"This isn't mine," Castle replied.

"No but you should bring it out here," Beckett said. She caught the bottle of her rose lotion he tossed her and waited for him to come out before she said, "I almost forgot."

"Your perfume reminded me," Castle explained with a smile before he kissed her and then got on the bed. "Lay back," he told her as he took her lotion back and then put some of the crème on his hand. Rubbing her abdomen gently he said, "Okay?"

"Mmm-hmm, she might be asleep," Beckett sigh, relaxing at her husband's touch as he was using both of his hands. She was going to speak when suddenly the baby kicked, and she and her husband laughed together at the sensation. "I love you you know," she told him after watching for a moment.

"I know," Castle replied. "And I love you too Kate." When he finished he was going to get up to wash his hands when suddenly his wife was tugging his arm. Though he wanted to protest he turned around and waited for her to rub his sandalwood lotion into his back. "Thanks," he said as he got up to take the bottles back and wash his hands. As he was doing that he wasn't surprised when his wife went over to her sink to do the same and he said, "You never took off my shirt," as it was still on her.

"I like it," Beckett said jokingly. She smiled and said, "I forgot about it to be honest. But I don't mind it."

"Neither do I," Castle told her as he went over to her and then pulled her close against him. He touched her stomach gently before he turned his attention to her and leaned down, kissing her as hard as he could. He could feel her sliding her fingers through his hair as they were busy dueling their tongues again but didn't stop even though he was shuddering in pleasure at her touch.

After they had parted Beckett pressed her forehead to his, unable to speak for a moment as she was a little weak kneed at their kiss. When she had recovered enough she was going to speak when suddenly Castle was lifting her up in his arms to her slight cry. "I'm not-" she started to say.

"No," Castle said firmly. "You're fine and I want you right now," he said as he carried her out to their bed.

Beckett waited until she was set down on the mattress before she told him, "I want you too lover. Come here, now."

The two got Castle's shirt off Beckett before they were sinking down and letting him enter her gently. They began to make love gently and tenderly, using that to start what would end up being a longer time together than they had planned. They didn't mind though as their desire was a literal thirst that neither could really quench and didn't bother to try as they knew they'd need much more than a night to do that. So instead they focused on each moment they had together, reaching all the heights of ecstasy they could give each other. As soon as they had calmed down they were starting over yet again as they whispered a promise of always, needing one another desperately once more.


	3. Blew His Mind Out

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Since this chapter is so short I'll be posting the next one in a few hours so look out for it then!

A/N #2: It was really nice getting the feedback for the beginning of this story, so I will get to my thank yous for that! KB4RC (It was nice to see that you like how the girls are loving to their parents; I figure the way Castle and Beckett are with them they'd be that way. And with them being very respectful when they meet new people I took that from my parents teaching me that when I was younger, figured Castle and Beckett would definitely teach their kids that as well)

MsNYC (I'm not surprised you loved how Rosie went to sniff Beckett first before she went into the house, but I am glad you loved it! Great to read that you enjoyed the girls with their grandparents in person and during the video chat. So, so pleased that you gave me two thumbs up for Beckett telling Julia about puberty and sex as well. I did it because I agree with you completely that it's great to have the knowledge before you lean it at school; so nice to know you had that opportunity as well. And of course, happy to read that you thought it was great writing as usual!),

TORONTOSUN (Great reading that you liked the talk between Julia and Beckett. And nice to see you liked them adding another dog to their growing family as you put it. And I'm of course pleased to read that you like that Julia's growing up and experiencing life as well!),

Mb (I'm glad that you thought it was a fantastic start again, not surprised it was what you needed after the very cold weather where you are. So glad you thought it was both wonderfully writing and that I did an amazing job with Beckett talking to Julia about puberty for both genders. I thought it's better for kids to be aware of both since of course they're different. And yeah, I figure it's better for Julia to hear from Beckett so she gets comfortable with the subject once she's learning about it in school. And you're right that it's better she hears from Beckett before she hears something wrong from other kids. So, so glad that you thought it was good I added both heterosexual sex and same sex sex. And yeah, thought that would be good since they have friends who are gay and lesbian. I'm not surprised you love that the baby is kicking, or that you love that Castle and the girls were so excited. And not surprised either that you mentioned the video calls with everyone, lol. Nice to read that you think the new dog sounds adorable and that she picked up on the baby too. And yeah, she picked up on loving all of them too. So glad you thought the second half was again fantastic, plus hot and loving too. I'm pleased you love how I'm able to show Castle and Beckett as loving and caring parents but also as you put it being so hot and intimate. And I'm really glad you think it's so them, the same that you think marriage and children made them even more connected as I always thought that could have been on the show. Nice that you think they'll definitely never be boring; didn't think they would be, lol. I agree, Castle and Beckett are always with each other as well as their family and friends. And it was great to see you think that's truly special writing from me. And thank you for reading my earlier work; doesn't matter how long it might take as long as you want to do that! Definitely Caskett and family always. You're very welcome for sharing!),

Guest (It was great reading you thought the prologue was outstanding. And I'm happy that you think both the story and my series is fascinating; I do my best to make it that. And thank you for reading, I know people can't review every time so thank you for this one. So pleased you think the details I have and the imagery as you put it you get from that is outstanding. And you do make a point that nearly 11 Julia would be embarrassed and confused; I'm pretty sure that I was myself; I thought that would be standard. And I wasn't really aiming for her birth mother conditioning her, just trying to keep her in the house because of Harris, though I'm not surprised you though that. Also, not surprised that you thought Julia would ask Beckett about her birth father. Or that you're waiting for Julia to remember before they were kidnapped as a bombshell, I know a lot of my readers are thinking that too. Great you think this early on it's a fascinating story and very well written too!) and

vetgirlmx (Great that you saw this was a very nice start for the story. And I'm not surprised that you mentioned that they were right that a lot of things happened that day, though of course glad that you said they were exciting things, lol. I'm not surprised you felt for Julia, being on the receiving end of the talk, though to be honest I never really went through that myself- I got my info mostly from school so I loved seeing that. And I can imagine that it's not very comfortable giving the talk, so I'm not surprised that you thought it wasn't much fun for Beckett. And I'm so glad that you were so appreciative of Castle and Beckett deciding that she would explain gay and straight relationships from the start. And interesting you had that thought when Beckett said she felt a baby kick for the first time and then said your sister, but yeah, I should have put to be clearer that she meant her sister kicking for the first time. And great to see that you're glad they decided to get a new dog soon. Not surprised that you mentioned too she's seems ready to protect the baby already, lol. So great that you're eager to see what happens next and now you don't need to wait for that anymore!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading each and every one of them and am so, so grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _A Day in the Life_ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles album _Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band_.

Blew His Mind Out

"Bledsoe," the voice called out making the man turn around halfway through the parking lot. "You forgot your files."

"Oh hey, thanks Adam," Bledsoe replied with a smile, taking it from him. "I need this."

"How's the story coming?" the man asked.

"It's not too bad," Bledsoe answered. "I think I got a good one that goes back a while too. But that's about all I can say."

"Then I'll look forward to editing your story," the man said. "Whenever you get it all set."

"Thanks," Bledsoe said with a smile. "And I'm also finished up on that puff piece Sini had me write out."

"About the writers?" the man asked.

"Yep," Bledsoe replied.

"Do they know about it?" the man said.

"They do, I got an interview over the phone with them," Bledsoe said. "I saw them last week over at the dog park and mentioned the story to them. You have to tell Sini to send them the advance copy."

"Pictures?" the man said.

"Well, they didn't want to right now," Bledsoe answered. "They're expecting you know."

"Right so…" the man began before he trailed off.

"They sent in a picture," Bledsoe said. "You'll see it soon I'm sure."

"Looking forward to it too," the man said before they shook hands.

"I'll see you tomorrow Adam. I gotta go and get some sleep I've been up all night on this story," Bledsoe said with a smile as he waved the file slightly before he turned and went to his car. He got in before he drove away from his office to head home between the Hamptons and Southampton.

Once he had reached his home Bledsoe got out of his car and closed the gate behind him, looking up as he heard running towards him. "Hey boy, how are you. Where's your sister?" he asked the dog that had run up to him. He heard a bark and smiled as his other dog ran up to him and the two started to circle him. "Calm down you two," he said with a smile. "We'll go I just need to get everything inside."

Leading the way, Bledsoe made a beeline for his office where he set the file that had been so instrumental in his writing away, locking it up as securely as he could. He was starting to turn to leave when his cell phone rang, and he quickly answered the phone after he saw it was his editor.

"What can I help you with Sini?" Bledsoe asked him.

"I just have a question about what you wrote concerning the writers," the man replied. "You have it down they're here in the Hamptons for good… how do you know?"

"I asked them," Bledsoe replied, trying not to sound too annoyed.

"They were both-" Sini began.

"I know but I talked to them and they said they're staying here for good," Bledsoe replied. "Do you want to take that out?"

"No," Sini said slowly. "Okay so we put that in for the magazine, but you got lucky when you got this interview. I don't want anything to risk it; it'll be a good one. You know everyone wonders about them."

"And because we were lucky about getting this interview I told them I would be mentioning that," Bledsoe replied.

"And they okayed it," Sini stated instead of asking.

"They did," Bledsoe said.

"Alright, I'll run it. Take tomorrow off and we'll have the final edition ready for you tomorrow," Sini replied.

"Right, I could use the rest," Bledsoe said. He was relieved when his editor didn't ask what he had for his other story and hung up the phone after saying goodbye to him. Looking down at his dogs he smiled and said, "Now we can go you two," before he set off to the beach his home was on with them.

Standing on the sand Bledsoe looked on while his dogs ran together holding a long piece of driftwood in both their mouths. He wasn't surprised when they fought over it before they let go and headed further down the beach. "Come back you two," he called to them. When they stopped where they were he sighed and said, "We'll learn how to work with each other soon I'm sure. But for now, come on we need to go inside." Making his way down the sand to them he saw that there was a hole in the sand and he stepped to the left of it to avoid it.

The explosion ripped through the beach, sending sand flying into the air as the dogs raced away from where their owner had been standing. Those that were in the homes on the beach ran out to see what had happened when one man dared to go close to the body that was laying there.

"Oh my god he's dead! Call the police!" was yelled down the beach, the roar of breaking waves competing to be heard together with it as the water began to mix with blood.


	4. Believe The News Today

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: The lyrics in this chapter are from the song _Good Sign_ by Paul McCartney, from the digital download for his 2017 remastered version of his album _Flowers in the Dirt_.

A/N #2: Since the last chapter was so short it was really great to get feedback for it, so will go right to my thank you for that! TORONTOSUN (Great that you thought the last chapter was a good start of another case for Castle and Becket. And happy to see you thought it was a nice title for the chapter!).

Thanks so much for the review, I loved reading it and am grateful for the time taken to write it out and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Sunday Bloody Sunday_ by U2, from their album _War_.

Believe The News Today

"Oh… love… please faster… oh god!" Beckett was moaning heavily as her husband was thrusting harder within her. She had her arms wrapped tightly around him and she was trying to move as fast as he was though it was difficult. But the friction between them was strong and she cried out unendingly before her husband was joining her in her orgasm. Her nails were digging hard into his back as she was trying to withstand everything he was giving her and had given her while they'd made love. Breathing heavily as she was the first to stop moving she caressed his back and his hair until he was stopping as well. "Thank you," she told him with a smile.

"Yeah, welcome," Castle said, panting heavily as he tried not to set his weight too hard on her. "Feel free to wake me up like that again," he said with a groan as he recalled how she had done that. He'd been startled almost out of sleep to his wife fondling his erection and begging him to fuck her. When they had started to she had directed him and he had enjoyed that immensely before they had come together. He slowly withdrew from her and lay next to her, wrapping his arm around her saying, "Are you better now?"

Giving him a look, Beckett said, "I was good before."

"And now?" Castle asked in amusement.

"Better," Beckett replied with a smile. She leaned into him and they kissed deeply before she moved to rest her head on his shoulder. "But I just hope this doesn't happen for a while."

"Tired?" Castle asked as he rubbed her arm gently.

"Yes, but I can't stop," Beckett said with another smile.

"I know and I'm so, so glad," Castle said.

"Pervert," Beckett told him. "And what are you going to do when I want to stop?"

"You take care of me during then… for some reason," Castle replied.

Beckett laughed as her alarm rang and she sat up to turn it off before she said, "You didn't seem to mind when I did that my last pregnancy."

"No," Castle said as he followed her off the bed. "But did you?" Her look at him made him nod and say, "Okay, if that's what you want then I'm happy you will."

Waiting for her husband to reach where she was standing in front of their closet Beckett wrapped her arms around him and then kissed him gently on the lips. "Don't worry, it's what I want," she told him.

"Sure," Castle replied, a little distracted. He leaned down to her and kissed her a little harder, holding her as close to him as he could. Keeping his lips against hers when they had stopped he murmured, "But for now I can pleasure you."

"Good, I'm holding you to that," Beckett replied. "Again. Now we need to stop."

"Yeah, I'll follow you," Castle said, reluctantly letting her go before he followed her to get their clothes. He was dressed first and asked, "What do you think?" as he watched her finishing up.

"Well we have the book," Beckett said. "Nearly finished with the chapter."

"You want a last push?" Castle asked.

"I think you do, especially with what we're writing about," Beckett told him with a smile. "But we don't have that much."

"I thought of that myself," Castle said. "But that's not going to take long."

"You have something in mind," Beckett said with a smile as she was watching him.

"We need more clothes remember," Castle said.

"We need clothes in general," Beckett replied as they hadn't gotten much yet. "Alright," she said. "But from what you said earlier I'm guessing you want to go over to the store after we drop them off."

"I do," Castle said as he followed her over to the bathroom. "But you don't think they'd mind we'll get that without them, do you?"

"We need to not get everything," Beckett pointed out as she washed her face. She dried it off and told him, "Just enough for… I suppose two weeks."

"Okay," Castle said, as they'd gotten clothes by days of the week and just in short increments. "And the next two weeks?"

"We'll go on Friday," Beckett said. "If we're not too busy."

"Okay, but we have to show them what we get," Castle said as he waited for her to put on her makeup after she'd put her hair into a ponytail.

"You think I'd keep that from them," Beckett told him with a smile. When he shrugged his shoulders, she rolled her eyes and said, "Let's go so we don't make them late."

"After you," Castle said, gesturing with his hand. When she stepped up to him he was slightly startled but took her gentle kiss before they walked together out to the hallway.

"I'll take care of breakfast today," Beckett told him, stopping him at the top of the stairs.

"Really?" Castle asked.

"Really," Beckett said, giving him a look. "And just oatmeal to make you less stressed."

"You can make whatever you want," Castle said with a slight laugh. "But I'll still help where you need it."

"Thank you, now go get Eliza," Beckett said. They shared a brief kiss before they headed down the rest of the way to their daughters' rooms. She ducked into Julia's, just as the baby was starting to kick and her oldest was turning to look at her as she was already up. She opened her mouth to tell her daughter good morning when Julia beat her to it; a wide smile already on the girl's face.

"Morning Mommy, is she kicking?" the girl asked.

"She is," Beckett replied, continuing into the room. "You're up already?"

"Yeah, school's today isn't it?" Julia said, looking over at her calendar and seeing that it was the twenty-seventh. "Aren't I supposed to get up?"

"I'm not used to you getting up on your own," Beckett replied as she waited for her daughter to get out of bed after Macca and JoJo were jumping down from it and racing out to join Rita and Rosie to go downstairs. "I remember I used to need to wake you up."

"You still do Mommy," Julia replied as she went to where her uniform was on the dresser. "Are we gonna walk?"

"It's sunny so we can," Beckett said before she embraced her daughter when she came over to her. She leaned over and shared a kiss with her saying, "I'm going to make breakfast, you can get ready on your own right?"

"Yeah that's okay," Julia said.

"Your hair?" Beckett then asked.

"I'll brush it myself," Julia said with a shrug. "But can you help me with a scarf."

"Just bring it downstairs," Beckett replied before she left the room and went over to Eliza's.

"Morning Mommy!" the little girl said as she stood on her bed.

"Good morning," Beckett said as she hugged and then kissed her youngest. She looked over at her husband who was looking at the sweaters in Eliza's closet. "She didn't pick anything?" she asked.

"I told her her sweater with a patch was in the wash," Castle replied, taking one out and showing Eliza. He sighed when she shook her head and he told his wife, "She's been doing this with every one I picked."

"Why don't you pick?" Beckett asked their youngest.

"I want one but… can I wear it?" Eliza said.

"You… need to tell us which one you want," Castle said, sharing a look with his wife. When Eliza held her arms out to him he picked her up and carried her over to the sweaters, watching her tug on the sleeve of one. "You can wear this," he said as his wife took out the grey hooded sweater with the Ravenclaw crest on it and blue lines on the neck, hem and sleeves.

"Next year you can't," Beckett reminded her, taking the sweater to set on the bed next to her jeans and socks. "I'm going downstairs, will you be okay?"

"Yep," Eliza said before she hugged her mother around the neck.

"She's not kicking," Beckett said, unsurprised the little girl then placed her hand on her stomach. "Maybe later." When Eliza nodded she left the room to let Castle change her and she headed downstairs, finding that the dogs were all waiting there. "Come on," she said with a smile, going over to the garage so she could feed them.

"Mommy," Julia called out as her mother started to walk down the hall.

"You finished already?" Beckett asked.

Nodding Julia held up her scarf she'd chosen to wear, handing it over to her mother. After it was tied around her head she said with a smile, "Are you gonna feed them?"

"I think they want their breakfast," Beckett said. "Help me?"

Julia nodded again and followed her over to the garage where they got the food for the dogs' bowls that were in the kitchen. "What about breakfast? Can I help you?" she said after she and her mother had washed their hands.

"You can set the table," Beckett replied. "And set out the fruit and sugar."

"Okay," Julia said with a smile before she turned quickly to start on that.

Beckett poured out the oatmeal into the pot and as she waited for the water to start heating up she looked behind her as she could hear Castle and Eliza joining them. "Can you get the milk and orange juice?" she asked her husband.

"Sure," Castle said though he continued to walk directly to her. As she looked at him; startled; he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hard before he then pulled away slowly. "Sorry… just felt the need to," he replied. When she didn't say anything he asked, "Where?"

Not surprised he'd been able to guess that Beckett took his hand and set it on her abdomen where the baby had begun to kick. It only did so one more time before she said, "Slow morning."

"I guess so," Castle replied before he kissed her cheek and then went to grab the drinks they would need. He also got the fruit and sugar ready for Julia to take to the table and let his wife take the pot to it before they were all sitting down to eat.

"What are you gonna do today Mommy?" Eliza asked.

"Hold on," Beckett head, hearing someone coming down the stairs. She looked down the hall and said, "Morning Dad."

"Good morning," Jim said with a smile. "I'm sorry I'm so late but I stayed up too long reading."

"I'm guessing it was a good book," Castle said.

"We just started eating Grandpapa," Julia told him as he kissed her and her sister on the cheek after doing the same to their mother.

"Are you walking with them to school?" Jim asked after he sat down with his bowl of oatmeal.

"We are," Beckett said as Eliza was looking at her and Castle hopefully.

"What about the dogs?" Julia asked as they all looked over at JoJo who was drinking the dogs' water.

"They're going to need to stay," Beckett replied. When Eliza made a sound of protest she smiled and said, "Sorry but there's too many of them and too many of us want to go inside the school to say goodbye to you two."

"I could hold them," Jim offered.

"You could but it'd be difficult," Castle pointed out. "I think we'll have to leave them here. But we might try to take you on a walk with them later."

"I'm going to step out for a moment," Jim replied to his son in law's questioning glance. "When we return but I'll be back for lunch."

"What're you gonna do Grandpapa?" Julia asked.

"I'm picking up something for my friend at work. The fireplace screen he's going to surprise his wife with," Jim reminded them as he'd taken his granddaughters to the workshop where the screen had been made.

"Oh… I wanna go," Eliza said.

"You have school first sweetie," Beckett told her, wiping her mouth gently since the little girl was sitting next to her.

"I'll let you see it," Jim said. "Unless they wrap it up, but you saw what they make."

"School is more important," Castle said. "So your grandfather's right."

"Kay," Eliza said. She ate her last spoonful of oatmeal and then asked, "What about you?"

"We should tell them," Castle said to his wife. When she nodded he looked at the girls and said, "We're going to head over to the store downtown and pick up some clothes your sister will need when we first bring her home."

"Plain stuff?" Julia guessed.

"Yes," Beckett said. "This is just so we're ready now instead of waiting until the last minute. And when we go again to get more we'll take you with us."

"Plain?" Eliza asked as her mother helped her get down from her chair as she'd finished.

"Just one color I guess," Castle said as he looked at his wife.

"You can get patterns too," Julia replied.

"We'll see what we can find," Beckett replied as she let Castle take her bowl for her. "It'll be different though," she said as she took the pot to the sink to be washed, her father helping them clear the table.

"When did you go before? For me?" Eliza asked, walking with her mother back to the table.

"Yes," Beckett said in amusement.

"They did the same thing too," Julia said as she was setting her bowl and glass next to the sink. "I was in school the first time they bought your first clothes and then they let me go with them."

"Did you pick me something to wear?" Eliza asked interestedly.

"A number of onesies," Castle said.

"He's right," Beckett said as the little girl was looking at them questioningly. "She picked a lot too so we can't remember them exactly but there are two. First was the one we would put you in a lot, it had fish on them."

"I thought you would like fish too," Julia told her sister with a smile as Eliza was beaming at her. That onesie had been photographed more than a few times since her sister had worn it so much. "And then one with leaves on it, for fall." She then looked at their parents and said, "You can pick patterns and then we will after."

"Okay," Beckett replied, slightly laughingly. "Now come on you two need to get ready or else we'll be late," she told them as she led them over to the entry, the dogs following them.

Once she had said goodbye to the dogs with her sister Julia said to her mother, "Are you gonna start getting everything now?"

"Not just yet," Beckett said. "I'm not even six months yet."

"Soon," Eliza stated.

"True," Beckett said with a smile. "This Saturday, but for now let's just focus on today."

"We're impatient Mommy," Julia told her as she put on her coat.

"So am I," Castle said as he and Jim joined them. "But your mom's right, better we just focus on each day or it'll drive us crazy."

Waiting until her father and husband had on their coats and outer layers Beckett said, "You don't want to join us Dad?"

"I'll pass," Jim replied, a slight smile on his face. "I'd like to pick up the fire screen and maybe stop and see Rufus."

"He's back?" Castle asked as he'd played golf with the man before.

"He is, just a quick hello," Jim answered. "Like I said I'll be here for lunch."

"Okay now we can go," Beckett said once the girls had said goodbye to the dogs. She took Eliza's hand once they were ready and walked out to the sidewalk, seeing that Rebecca was with Dani and Mari in front of the Foster home.

"David had to go in?" Castle asked her.

"He did," Rebecca replied as their daughters greeted each other. "And I've got to go back inside right now so I hope you don't mind taking her."

"We don't," Castle said. "I was wondering why you weren't wearing gloves or a scarf."

"We'll see you at your dance class if we can make it Mari," Rebecca told her daughter. "If not, you'll come back with them okay?"

"Okay, bye Mommy, Dani," Mari told the two before they started to walk to the school. "What is it?" she asked her friend as they were holding hands.

"They're gonna go get clothes for the baby today," Julia answered with a smile. "So that's exciting."

"Yeah, you're close now," Mari replied. "Closer."

"But still far away," Julia said, wrinkling her nose. She and Mari started to laugh together before they stopped at the street across from their school and then crossed to hurry up to the elementary school ahead of the others.

Eliza said goodbye to Mari once they were at her classroom and she said to Julia, "What can we play?"

"Maybe a snowball fight," the girl replied. "There's lots of snow."

Nodding eagerly Eliza went to her grandfather and hugged him tightly saying, "See you at lunch Grandpapa."

"See you then honey, have fun today," Jim replied, kissing her temple.

Hugging her father next Eliza said, "Promise you will show me the clothes for the baby?"

"We will," Castle said. "And your sister too so you're going to need to wait. But have a great day."

Eliza wrinkled her nose at her father before she giggled and then shared a kiss with him before she said, "I will. She took her mother's hand and told her, "I'll be good Mommy," as Beckett was helping her with her things.

"I wasn't going to tell you to be good," Beckett said slightly laughingly. "Just pay attention and have fun."

"Oh… I will Mommy," Eliza said seriously before she smiled and hugged her mother. "You have fun too Mommy."

"I will, we'll see you for lunch sweetie," Beckett replied, sharing a kiss with her before letting her go over to her friends at one of the tables and she went outside to where everyone else was waiting.

" _I was thinking_ ," Castle said to her once they were going up the stairs. " _What if we walk the dogs_?" When his wife just looked at him he said quickly, " _I'm not trying to delay writing. Just we should walk_."

" _I know_ ," Beckett said since she needed to. " _And alright but not that far I would like to get some writing done_."

" _Sure_ ," Castle said before they said goodbye to Mari and she then hugged their oldest.

"See you at recess, have fun!" Julia said after she and her friend had let go of each other. She turned to her family and said, "My turn." She led the way to her classroom and hugged her grandfather, smiling as he told her to have fun as well. She went to her father first and said, "Have fun shopping for the baby."

"I'm sure we will," Castle replied, squeezing her shoulder before he let her go fully.

"He's right," Beckett said before Julia could say anything. "And we'll show you, now have fun and pay attention."

"I agree with her," Castle said quickly before he smiled at his wife when she looked at him.

"Thanks Daddy, Mommy," Julia said laughingly as she watched them. "See you at dance class." She gave her mother a second quick hug and then rushed inside her classroom, waving to her friends before she sat at her desk and pulled out her notebook and text books to wait for the class to start.

Outside, while Julia was getting ready, Castle took his wife's hand and they went with her father down the stairs. "Are you going to head out now?" he asked Jim.

"I will," Beckett's father replied. "Better I go now and then see Rufus… hopefully it won't be too early for him."

"You said he wakes up early," Beckett reminded him.

Jim nodded before he remained silent as they continued to the house before they went inside through the door in the fence. "Are you going out now?" he asked them.

"We can't," Beckett said. "They don't open until ten."

"Oh, then I'll see you later," Jim said, going over to his car. Once he was inside he waved to the two and then pulled out of the gate, watching them head into the house behind him before he turned his attention to the road.

"So," Castle said. "That walk?"

"No," Beckett said shortly. She only had a moment to see her husband's startled expression as she was throwing herself at him. She kissed him hard, relieved when he was very soon after responding to her and holding onto her as tightly as she was doing to him. They were a little grabby with each other, touching where they could before she was jolted away from him at the sound of one of the dogs barking.

"Um… we're still here in the entry," Castle said, looking around as if in a daze.

"Come on," Beckett said, taking his hand. She told the dogs to stay before she pulled her husband upstairs though they would still need to walk down the hall to their room. When he placed his hand on the small of her back she looked at him at her side and said, "So you can keep up."

"I think so," Castle said before they were slipping into their bedroom. He closed and locked the door behind him, not too taken aback to find his wife there when he turned back around. He took her kiss before she ended it by moving over to his jaw and while she kissed at it he asked, "What do you want us to do?"

Beckett wasn't surprised that he'd guessed what she was trying to do, and she leaned over slightly so she could whisper into his ear. When he shuddered visibly and groaned audibly she smiled and kissed down his jaw until she reached his chin. Nipping at it she said, "We're good?"

"Not quite yet," Castle told her, pulling her to the table behind their bed. He turned to her and he kissed her gently before he moved back so he could begin to unbutton her blouse she'd put on. When he had it off he gently placed his hands on her abdomen and murmured, "My goddess."

Feeling her cheeks heating up slightly Beckett brushed her lips against his before she told him, "Are you going to worship me?"

"I'd like to," Castle replied with a smile. When she cupped his face, he met her for a kiss before he realized she was beginning to unbutton his shirt. He wasn't surprised when they were working a little quickly at that point, undressing one another as rapidly as they could until they were naked, and he was lifting her up onto the table. He slid inside of her quickly and murmured to her before she nodded rapidly, and he began to thrust hard. He'd checked to make sure; before he'd started; if she wanted to keep it a quickie as she'd asked for before they'd undressed. Since it was what she wanted he thrust fast against her, trying to do as she'd requested. But since she was crying out to him and holding onto him with both her arms and legs he guessed she wasn't regretting asking for that.

Beckett gladly kissed her husband when he came to her lips and she did her best to move with him though it was a little difficult since he was going so fast. She had no idea how long; or short; of an amount of time it took before they were climaxing and heavily. But it was pleasurable, and she moaned in her ecstasy while it made her whole body feel as if it was on fire. When she finally calmed down she leaned against him, breathing heavily but enjoying the last few thrusts that he gave in her. "Oh Rick," she breathed in joy when he leaned against her and she felt she could speak.

"Good?" Castle asked before he pulled back to look at her. When she nodded he smiled before she did and then leaned down to gently kiss her. They lingered a little before they slowly parted and he said, "Anymore?"

"I don't think we should," Beckett replied with a smile. "Why don't we take a shower?"

"Sure," Castle said quickly before he slowly left her body. "Not a bath?"

"I'd like to get to the store as soon as it opens," Beckett said. "And get back in time to write at least a little bit before we need to get Eliza."

"I'll follow you love," Castle replied as he walked after her. Inside the bathroom he waited for her to turn on the water, unable to help himself as he reached out and ran his fingers over her spine.

Smiling over her shoulder at him Beckett said, "You couldn't help yourself, could you?"

"No," Castle said easily. He laughed when she rolled her eyes before he followed her inside to stand underneath the water. As soon as they were there he was wrapping his arms tightly around his wife, holding onto her tightly.

"You want to do this against the wall?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"We probably shouldn't," Castle said with a smile. "My knee is getting a little… it's protesting."

Beckett laughed slightly at how he'd worded that, and she gently leaned against him, kissing him before she leaned back. "Are we going to have a storm?" she asked him.

"I'm not sure," Castle said honestly. "I'll have to see how things go the rest of the day."

"Hopefully that," Beckett replied before she shared another kiss with him. "Now we need to hurry a little."

"Okay," Castle said, not wanting to argue that as he did want to go shop for the baby. He took his wife's bath sponge and lathered it up before he took care of washing her body, being meticulous as he wanted the chance to take as long as he possibly could.

When her husband reached her stomach, Beckett let out a soft laugh when the baby gently kicked, and she said, "She knows you're there," as it had done so near his palm.

"I guess so," Castle replied, smiling himself. He knelt for a moment and kissed at her abdomen gently before he pulled away. When he stood up he wasn't surprised when she wrapped her arms around him and gently kissed him on the lips. He responded before pulling away, hesitating for a moment. He wanted to ask if she wanted to make love one more time, but he could tell from the expression on her face that they needed to go. So he continued to wash her off before he let her step to the water to rinse off, watching her as she did so. He couldn't help admiring her body as she was doing that, paying close attention to the way the water ran over her skin. When she turned to him he said, "I'm not apologizing."

"I didn't expect you to," Beckett said, getting his sponge ready to start washing him. As she was doing that she told him, "I feel bad that we left the dogs on their own downstairs."

"And that we're leaving them again?" Castle asked.

"That too," Beckett replied. "But we have that walk."

"You think we should wait until Eliza's with us?" Castle said as he stood under the water to rinse off.

"I'd like to," Beckett said.

"Well that would give us a chance to write that you wanted," Castle pointed out to her as she turned off the shower once he was done.

"True," Beckett said with a smile as he carefully passed by her to step out first.

"So how far are we going?" Castle asked while he held the towel open to her.

"Well we got them to the bed," Beckett replied while he was drying her off carefully. "But I wonder if we should go into detail."

"I was thinking, should we skip over any lovemaking and then go to Moor waking up and Green waking up after to them talking about the case?" Castle said as he handed her towel over to her so she could wrap it around herself.

"I think that may work," Beckett said with a nod. "But what about ending with Green distracting him?"

"Heavy petting?" Castle asked as he wrapped his towel around his waist.

"Sure," Beckett said, unable to help smiling. She reached over and squeezed his hand before they went out to the bedroom where she saw their clothes were strewn on the floor. "Okay, I guess we're changing," she told her husband.

"I guess so," Castle replied, smiling himself as he couldn't help recalling the way they'd undressed each other earlier. He then shook himself and went over to the closet with her where they dressed quickly as he'd noticed that their shower had taken some time. When they were ready he followed her again, that time out of their room and hurriedly downstairs. They grabbed their coats and put them on after saying goodbye to the dogs before they went to the garage. "Who's going to drive?" he asked her. When she snatched the keys from his hand he said, "Question answered."

Not replying to that Beckett got into the car and she drove them out to the store saying, "I guess Rufus was awake."

"I think so," Castle said. "Also I'm glad he didn't get back… earlier."

Beckett gave him a look but when he just stared at her she told him, "I know but our room is soundproofed."

"Enough," Castle said with a nod. "Good thing. Okay so are we going all colors, or can we get patterns like the girls said."

"We'll see," Beckett replied with a smile. She soon reached the downtown area and parked on the street before they got out together. She smiled again when her husband held his hand out to her as soon as she stepped up on the sidewalk but took his hand the second she reached him. Their fingers automatically entwined and while they walked down a little to the store she told him, "No going crazy here."

"I was waiting for you to tell me that," Castle replied with a smile. "And I won't but I would suggest that you stay with me while we're in here."

"Or you stay with me," Beckett told him firmly.

Castle nodded and then said, "Will do."

Beckett laughed softly and went into the store as he held the door open for her. She looked around the boutique with a smile, remembering when they'd bought Eliza's clothes when she'd been an infant.

"Takes you back," Castle said to his wife.

"I know," Beckett replied. "So, we should start."

"We should," Castle said, about to start walking to some onesies that had caught his eye. He was stopped by his wife taking him by the wrist and he said, "Sorry."

"You forgot already," Beckett told him teasingly. When he looked away from her she shook her head and said, "Show me what you saw."

"Sure," Castle replied, taking her then to the display that he'd seen.

When her husband handed her a onesie Beckett held it out to study it and said, "This isn't too bad for you," as it was a deep blue with light blue, thin stripes.

"I never picked out anything that outrageous," Castle said defensively and with a smile.

"No but still," Beckett replied before she handed it to him. "Let me pick now." She then led the way through the store until they had enough for a week, most of them with patterns. "One more week," she told him.

Hearing the pause in his wife's voice Castle smiled and asked, " _Kicking_?"

Nodding Beckett went over to the next display and picked out another before she allowed her husband to choose. They took turns until they had enough for the first two weeks and she followed Castle over to the register. "That was nice," she said.

"Been a while," he said before he watched the cashier ring up what they'd chosen. Castle handed over his card once everything was set and he told his wife, "It's funny that we're close to what we got before."

"Well how many subjects can there be for the patterns?" Beckett asked since they'd chosen animals and objects for the patterns for Eliza as well.

"I hadn't thought of that," Castle replied after thinking for a moment. He turned his attention to the cashier and took the bag from her, thanking her before he and Beckett walked out of the store. "I hate to ask but we're writing now aren't we?" he asked her as he set the bag in the back seat.

"Well first we need to get these out of the bag," Beckett began before she went around to the driver's seat. Getting inside she then told her husband, "And after we can write. But don't take an hour getting all of those folded just right."

"Where are we going to put them for now?" Castle asked while she pulled away from the curb.

"In our office," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when Castle looked at her, slightly startled, and she explained, "We need to show the girls and we can close the door to keep Eliza from seeing them when we're back home."

"Then that explains why you wanted to write before we got her," Castle said. When she nodded he then looked ahead of them and watched as they got back home, going down the driveway once the gate was open. "Oh, your dad's back," he said when he saw his father in law's car parked there.

"I wonder if we shouldn't let him pick Eliza up," Beckett said after she pulled into the garage.

"We could get more writing done," Castle stated instead of asking as he knew what his wife meant. "We'll ask him," he said when he stepped out of the car. He then smiled at her across the roof and told her, "But I think we both know what he'd say to that already."

"Then we should explain to him," Beckett replied as she walked around the car to him before they went inside the house.

"Hello," Jim said, smiling at the two as he walked into the entry. "I see you had some success," he added when he saw the bag that his son in law was holding.

"We did, we're going to fold these and then write Dad," Beckett began. "We might need you to pick up Eliza since we're really close to finishing this chapter."

"Okay," Jim said. "I'll be happy to do that of course. Just let me know."

"You're going to go read?" Beckett asked him with a smile.

"I am," Jim replied. "I didn't finish the book, so I'd like to try now."

"We'll get you if we need you to pick up Eliza," Castle said.

Beckett studied her father and then said, "Actually you can come with us to see the clothes if you want."

"I'll wait for the girls," Jim told them with a slight smile. "They wouldn't be too happy if I saw before them."

Watching him go over to the stairs Beckett turned to her husband and said, "Should we start?"

"Yes," Castle replied before he followed her into the office. He watched her taking out the onesies and waited for her to hand him some. "I'm really interested in seeing what they'll think," he told her.

"I think they'll like them," Beckett replied with a smile, starting to fold as he was. "I'm still a little surprised."

"I know, maybe once she's here it'll be more believable," Castle told her.

"Most likely," Beckett replied with a smile before she leaned over and kissed his cheek. When he turned his head quickly she let him take her lips and they kissed deeply before she pulled away. "We don't have that many left," she told him.

"Right," Castle said though he was fighting with himself not to kiss her again. He turned his attention back to the clothes and folded them before he said, " _Are you oka_ y?"

Smiling at his Irish Beckett said, " _I'm fine but I can feel still it wasn't enough_."

Nodding Castle said, " _I have to agree_."

" _How are you able to keep up with me_?" Beckett asked, looking over at him then as she picked up the last onesie that she had to fold.

" _I've thought the same_ ," Castle told her. " _And I think I realized what it is_."

Beckett finished folding the onesie and let her husband; who'd finished folding his as well; take her out into the hall as he took his phone out of his pocket. She was going to speak when he played a song, one she knew as it was a favorite of their daughter's. She watched him as the beginning played before she realized why he'd started the song at some particular lyrics.

 _I love the way that my heartbeat increases  
When you walk in a room  
The chemicals that my body releases  
Dispel any feelings of gloom_

" _I've heard that happens_ ," Beckett said with a smile.

" _So have I and if that's the case then I think our bodies might be working a little overtime_ ," Castle told her.

Beckett laughed softly before she leaned over and gently brushed her lips against his before they embraced tightly. They kissed again, a little more passionately, but were stopped when they heard her father coming down the stairs. "Are you okay?" she asked him as he walked down the hall to them.

"Yes, I was just about to get some tea," Jim told them with a smile. "Going to write now?"

"I think-" Castle started to say before his phone began to ring.

Seeing the expression on her husband's face when he looked at the number Beckett asked, "Brad?"

Castle nodded before he answered and said, "Another case?"

"Yeah, I need you to get down here to Blue Road, one hundred and eighty," the chief said on the other end. "There's been an explosion."

"We'll be there," Castle told him. He hung up and said, "Blue Road?" to his wife.

"Yeah… that's Bledsoe isn't it?" Beckett asked him.

"The writer for the _Report_?" Jim asked as he'd read articles from the man.

"And for the Hampton's magazine," Castle said, nodding. "We got a Christmas card from him and sent one back."

"Katie-" Jim said, turning to his daughter.

"I'll be fine Dad, Rick isn't the only one who looks out for me now," Beckett said with a smile.

"She's right, Brad and actually everyone at the station does too," Castle said. "She'll be alright."

"Tell Eliza we're sorry," Beckett told her father as she hugged him. "And that we'll try to be there for the dance class."

"I will… any preference for her lunch?" Jim asked.

"You can take her somewhere," Castle said as he and Beckett were gathering their things to go. "Something healthy if possible."

"Thanks Dad," Beckett told him with a smile. She and Castle said goodbye to him before they left, and she said, "Think Brad will be alright?"

"I don't know, I need to try and get out of him what's going on with him and Lily," Castle replied, taking the keys to drive them to their crime scene as his wife was nodding in agreement with him. They got into the car and he focused on reaching the address, wondering what they were going to find once they got to the edge of town and the journalist's home.

* * *

" _I don't know_ ," Beckett said as her husband walked up to her on the sidewalk outside the home. " _He doesn't look that happy still_."

" _Have you talked to_ Lily _at all_?" Castle asked her as they stayed where they were for a moment.

" _She's high strung for… some reason_ ," Beckett said, shaking her head. " _I asked if they fought but she's adamant it's not that_."

Sighing Castle said, " _I tried talking to him_ ; David _did too; the last time we went out to have some drinks. But he's not budging; the problem with talking to a cop. You cannot get anything out of them_."

" _I don't think this has to do with him being a cop_ ," Beckett said simply. " _More him and_ Lily."

" _True_ ," Castle said with a sigh. " _Think I should try and talk to him back at the station_?"

" _I'm not sure that would work, let's go_ ," Beckett said shortly before they walked together down the sidewalk.

" _But I don't want anything to happen to their marriage, they're happy together_ ," Castle told his wife, glad they were speaking in Irish still. " _And don't you want them to stay together_?"

" _Yes_ ," Beckett replied. " _But if they're not going to tell us there's nothing we can do. For now, we focus on the case_."

Though he wanted to protest Castle had to concede she was right so he kept silent as he walked up the front path to the home with here where his friend was on the porch. He studied Brad closely but didn't say anything, waiting for the chief to talk to them once they were going up the steps near enough to hear him speak.

"You know where we are?" the chief asked the two.

"We figured it out," Beckett said first. "What happened?"

"I don't know if I want to take you two back there," Brad said. "It's a little…"

Glancing at his wife Castle said, "We'll be alright, we've gone to the site of a bombing before."

"Well they took a look at it a little more closely," Brad said as he turned to enter the house. "And it was a custom land mine."

"Okay," Castle said, sharing another look with his wife as his voice was a little strained. "Then that means it'll be identifiable right?"

"Not exactly," Brad replied as they stepped out to the beach in the back of the house.

"He had dogs," Castle said, looking over at the two that were crying at the end of their leashes.

"According to his neighbors they were new, he got them about two weeks ago," Wade said, walking over to them. "We'll have to call the Humane Societ-"

"We can take them," Castle said immediately.

"Rick!" Beckett said, looking at him in shock.

"We can," Castle said. "We can adopt them or whatever and they'll be ours."

"That would help," Brad replied. "Better than sending them back to the shelter."

"They were shelter dogs sir," Wade replied with a nod as the chief was looking at him.

"Then we need to stop at the house," Castle said before he looked at his watch.

"Later Castle, we have the case first," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised, when they walked over to the yellow tarp on the sand, to see out of the corner of her eye that her husband was looking at her. She didn't say anything though as they were nearing the body and she said, "It was a small one," a little startled at the hole that was there.

"The force displaced a lot of sand," Hutchinson told them. "Neighbors saw it going up at least ten feet."

"Okay, you two sure you want to see this?" Brad asked them. When they nodded he inclined his head to the CSU team member kneeling next to the body. He kept his eyes on the two when the victim was revealed and wasn't surprised when they both just looked at it.

"I'm assuming it got his artery?" Castle said when they looked up and the body was covered again.

"Instantly," Brad said as the vic's body had been badly damaged.

"What time did this happen?" Beckett asked.

"The neighbors said at nine, a little after," Hutchinson replied.

Castle looked over at his wife, recalling they'd been making love at that time, and then said, "Took you a while to call us."

"I had to call David," Brad said, gesturing so they could walk away from the others.

"I'm assuming by that the FBI will be getting involved?" Beckett asked him.

"For now, no," Brad replied. "The landmine was very… crude so it's likely we have a home-grown bomber."

"They would still look into that," Beckett quickly pointed out to him.

"And they are, just not here yet because there's apparently a case in West Virginia that may be connected," Brad replied. "A reporter was killed in the same manner. So once they discern if they need to treat this as a connected case or not they'll join us. In the mean time I need to keep in touch with them."

"Which would explain why you're so grumpy," Castle said before he blanched when his friend glared at him. "Sorry," he said quickly.

With a sigh Brad shook his head and said, "That's not why I'm… tense. For now, let's head back to the house because there's something you need to see."

Castle and Beckett shared a look but didn't say anything as they followed their friend inside and to what they could discern was the vic's office.

"So…" Castle said when he couldn't really see anything that would warrant them coming in there.

"Here," Brad replied, going to the safe that was open.

"You have a warrant?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"We do," Brad replied. "He has no wife, kids or family so we went to Covington and he signed the warrant for us. I'm glad he did because this is what we found," he told them as he went to the desk.

"What… is this?" Beckett said slowly.

"Articles about other bombings," Castle said as he and Beckett were looking over all the papers spread across it. "In Albany," he said before he looked up at Brad.


	5. Believe The News Today (Part 2)

The chief was walking over the door and he closed it before he said, "You asked me once about having a case that was never solved." He gestured to the desk and said, "There you have it."

"Why don't you tell us about it?" Beckett asked. "Because it will take us some time to read all of this."

"Alright. About fourteen years ago, 2006, I was still up there as a detective," Brad said. "And we got a call one morning in February."

"So nearly the same time period," Castle said as Brad stopped there and looked away.

"Nearly," Brad said. "But it's likely a coincidence since we're still in January."

"Keep going," Beckett said when he paused.

"It was nearly the same," Brad continued. "Homemade landmine and small, enough to kill the vic but that's it. It wasn't on a beach like here of course but it was in the vic's backyard."

Castle was slipping on his glasses and after he and Beckett had put on gloves he picked up one of the articles saying, "This was the crime scene?"

"Before the explosion," Brad replied with a nod before Beckett was looking at one of the articles. "We didn't really get much from what was left of the landmine, couldn't even reconstruct it. The day after we got another bomb, this one was like a Uni-bomber bomb in construction and that we could reconstruct. We got a suspect but couldn't pin it on him as the evidence was flimsy."

"I'm getting the feeling you didn't think it was this guy," Beckett replied.

"I never said definitely that it couldn't be him," Brad explained. "But it just wasn't all that likely. The next day there was another bomb, early in the morning, and that one was a pipe bomb. Then about four hours later, a second pipe bomb and that was it."

"And you got nothing from all of that?" Beckett asked.

"Nothing but the bombs and those are in the database in case we got the guy again," Brad said. "It bothered me because of the second bomb."

"Oh?" Castle asked, tucking his glasses away.

"They exploded it on a playground; there weren't any kids there but…" Brad said. "I knew Lily by then and I kind of… dreamed of having kids with her and I thought what if our kids had been there. It was disturbing; though of course any kid getting hurt is disturbing."

"Did you have a profile done on the guy? I'm assuming it's a guy," Castle said.

"It is," Brad replied with a nod. "Just by the profile they said that he's trying to prove his superiority to the rest of us. And by us, I mean investigators."

"Sounds like Dunn," Castle told his wife.

"It does but he's also more sadistic," Beckett replied. "The playground."

"That's what the profiler said," Brad said. He paused for a moment to recall what the profile had said, and he told them, "He didn't want to hurt children but he wanted us to be concerned; possibly make a mistake."

"So he was full of himself," Castle said.

"Yes, but it always bothered me he was never caught but we never got word of any similar bombings," Brad told them.

"Maybe he was killed," Beckett suggested. "Or put in jail."

"I'm hoping," Brad replied. "Okay, you guys need to take your new dogs home."

"We also need to contact the animal shelter," Castle said as he and his wife took off their gloves they'd used to handle the articles. "We can do that by phone."

"Stay for lunch," Brad said. "I'll be working out some things here for a while still, so I'll text you when I'm at the station."

"You don't need us at all here?" Beckett asked to make sure.

"No CSU is making sure we have documentation; good documentation the FBI made sure we would do," Brad told them as they left the room. "He wrote that article about you two, right?" he asked as they went to the front door.

"He did, we talked on the phone after Christmas," Castle told his friend. "And we saw him last Sunday at the dog park when we went with the girls."

"He told us we'd be getting the article soon," Beckett said when Brad looked at her. "But he didn't seem any different than when we last saw him."

"Are you having co-workers come in?" Castle asked.

"I'm having his editor come in and Hall and Rice are going to look into his co-workers," Brad explained. "But I want you two with me for the editor since he would recognize you both."

"Just let us know," Castle said. When his friend went back into the house he said, "Hopefully someone will bring us the dogs."

Sighing Beckett said, "I had a feeling you did want to get another couple dogs."

"We're rescuing them," Castle told her hesitantly.

"I know and that's what made me decide to agree with this," Beckett said. "Could you tell what kind of dogs they were?"

"Well one I know is definitely an Irish Setter," Castle replied. "The other looks like Rita but not quite."

"She's a little bit smaller," Beckett said with a nod. She looked with him inside the house and they watched as Wade and one of the CSU workers were bringing the dogs out. She was surprised the dogs were scrambling ahead of them but said to Wade, "Where were they when the explosion happened?"

"They were running down the beach, one of the neighbors caught them," the officer replied. "Brought them back but on the street."

"Why were they in the back?" Castle asked then.

"It's where they wanted to be," Wade said.

"Were they trying to get to the vic?" Beckett said.

"We're not sure," Wade said. "But they seem to want to go with you."

"Yeah, we'll take them now," Beckett said as the dogs were licking at her hand and nuzzling it.

"Should we get them checked out?" Castle asked his wife once they were walking back to their car.

"I don't know," Beckett said slowly. "I forgot to ask if they were trained."

"Or housebroken," Castle said. "You can try to see if they're trained now."

Beckett nodded as they stopped at their car and she said firmly, "Sit," before the two sat down at the same time. "Rick," she told him. "I think we need to go to the shelter they're from and see about this dog and then about them both in general."

"And adopt them officially," Castle told her. He opened the back door for the dogs so they could jump inside and when he closed it he told his wife, "They're trained."

"They are," Beckett said. "I'm wondering about their names."

Castle looked through the window and said, "We should have looked at their collars."

"They don't have tags," Beckett pointed out.

"Then maybe he hadn't fully adopted them yet," Castle said.

"Let's find out," Beckett told him before they got into the car and she let him drive to the shelter where they'd gotten Rosie.

Inside the building Castle and Beckett spoke to one of the volunteers there and found out that the vic hadn't adopted the two dogs yet. Nor had he renamed them, so they knew they could have Julia do that later. They fully adopted both dogs; since the shelter already knew they were taking good care of Rosie; while one of the trainers there checked on the two and they found out the girl dog was the large sized Andalusian Hound.

"They look to be alright for your family," the woman said as she brought the two back to Castle and Beckett. "But if there are any issues bring them in so I can work with them."

"We will," Beckett said with a nod. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, thank you for taking them in," the woman replied, shaking their hands.

Back out in the car Castle and Beckett went hurriedly home, wondering how the other dogs would react to their new additions. When they got out of the garage they turned to the door next to the gate as it was opening, seeing her father and Eliza walking inside.

"Mommy! Daddy!" the little girl cried as she started to run over to them. When two dogs jumped out she almost skidded to a stop and Eliza asked, "Who are they?"

"Our new dogs," Castle said, holding onto the dogs' temporary collars.

Eliza was squealing in joy before she hurried the best she could to them without running and she stuck her hand out to the dogs to see if they would like her. When the one with long fur licked it and the other dog followed she giggled and then wrapped her arms around the neck of the first before the other.

Beckett, explaining to her father how they'd suddenly gotten two dogs, said, "Rick didn't want them to go back to the shelter."

"And that's why you're also good parents," Jim said with a smile. When his daughter looked at him questioningly he explained, "I know you didn't want them to either."  
"Oh, well of course not," Beckett replied. She then looked over at her husband and Eliza and smiled before saying, "We're having lunch with you; Brad won't need us for a little bit. I think we can make something."

"I will," Castle said, coming over with the dogs. "But first we need to introduce them to their brothers and sisters."

"Mommy, Daddy can Rosie stay with me?" Eliza asked hopefully as they went into the house.

"I think so," Castle replied. "But the question becomes where these two will go until the baby is here."

"With me and Jules," Eliza said firmly before their other four dogs were coming over to them.

For a moment Beckett became a little worried, as there was a lot of barking, but finally after some sniffing they were yipping at each other. "Okay," she said when some of the dogs sat and all of them looked up at them. "Now we can get lunch ready."

"Can I tell Jules about the doggies?" Eliza asked.

"Why don't we wait until she's at home and can see them?" Castle suggested as they were taking off their outer layers.

"Kay, but what are their names?" Eliza said.

"Their names right now are Walter and Alice," Castle said.

"Your sister will likely rename them," Beckett pointed out as Eliza looked unsure about that.

"Okay so I can make tomato soup and grilled cheese," Castle told them while they were walking over to the kitchen. "It's quick and it's cold so we'll need it."

"I like that," Eliza said with a wide smile. "Can I help Daddy?"

"Yes, I need someone to set the table," Castle replied. "Think you can do that?"

"Yeah," Eliza said before she went with Jim to start getting plates to her father and then taking the bowls to the table.

"Okay love?" Castle asked as their newest dogs were following her.

"Yes," Beckett said simply, looking down at the Setter and Andalusian.

"Is the baby kicking right now?" Castle asked, looking over at her.

"It is," Beckett said. "And Rosie?"

"I think she knows she's Eliza's dog," Castle said, looking over at the table where their youngest was walking with Rita and Rosie.

"If they stay with them will the same thing happen?" Beckett asked, flipping the sandwich he'd been working on. "I'm not getting any more dogs love."

"I know," Castle said in amusement. "And we'll figure something out. But we should let them sleep with the girls now, it is cold."

"Of course, we'll need to get them blankets though," Beckett said as she set the sandwich onto one of the plates. "They're not going to fit."

"They might, the girls are small still," Castle pointed out.

"I guess we'll need to see," Beckett said with a smile. She reached over and squeezed his arm before she got the last sandwich on the plate before calling Eliza over. "Can you start helping me take these?" she asked the little girl.

"I think you should sit Mommy," Eliza said seriously.

"I'll be alright," Beckett said with a smile. "Come on."

When the pot of soup was finished Castle took it over to the table and then dished it out into the bowls before they were sitting down with their drinks to begin eating.

"Grandpapa says you have a case," Eliza told them.

"We do," Beckett replied. "But we'll try to finish as soon as we can."

"Did you write?" Eliza asked.

"No," Castle answered. "We ended up spending time at the baby store."

"Did you get the clothes?" Eliza asked eagerly, surprised she'd forgotten about that though she remembered the dogs had distracted her.

"We did but you'll have to wait for your sister to get here before you see them," Beckett told her.

"Poor Jules has to wait," Eliza told them. "But she will see everything soon."

"She will," Castle said in amusement.

Eliza kept looking at all the dogs as they were eating before she said, "They don't have bowls!"

"We'll grab some of their things later," Castle said.

"What?" Beckett asked as he was looking at her.

"After dinner?" Castle asked.

"No," Beckett said quickly, smiling over at Eliza as she gasped in pleasure. "Before dinner which we'll pick up after getting supplies for them."

"Can we get them new collars?" Eliza said hopefully.

"Yes," Castle said. "And we'll get them beds and blankets… toys."

Eliza wriggled eagerly in her seat at the idea of getting to pick that and she said, "Thank you for bringing them Mommy, Daddy."

"You're welcome," Castle said.

"They were going to go back to the shelter, so we decided to take them," Beckett added as they stood up to start clearing the table since they were finished. "Anything from Brad?" she asked her husband as she looked over at him.

"No, I'll let you know the second I do," Castle said.

"Sorry," Beckett replied. "I'm just worried that he won't be able to let us stay on the case."

"If the FBI comes in then probably not," Castle said, thinking about that for a moment before he started to wash the bowls and plates. "But we'll see what David and Brad can do."

Nodding Beckett looked over at their youngest, who was running around with the dogs as her father watched her, and then said in Irish, " _What if we're off the case? I don't want to lose it, that hole in the sand was… disturbing_."

" _I thought the same_ ," Castle replied. " _We'll tell_ Brad _we want to see this out but there's not much we can do. He and_ David _are our connections_."

Beckett merely nodded once; as there wasn't much she could say; and she went over to Eliza before the dogs gathered around them. "Rick," she said. "Did you ever think you'd have six dogs?"

"No," Castle said laughingly. "You'll have to thank Julia for giving me the idea."

"Oh… kay," Eliza said with a smile as she'd come over to them. "Now what Mommy?"

"I can pick out some worksheets for you," Beckett said, recalling then. "Since I didn't get the chance to before." She led her daughter and father to the family room where she went through the worksheets Eliza had, picking out a few pages. "Work on those and then try and do something with art with your grandpapa," she told her daughter.

"Kay," Eliza said with a smile before her father came to the doorway.

"Love, it's Brad," Castle told his wife. "He wants us back to talk with the editor."

"Okay," Beckett replied before she turned to Eliza. She hugged the little girl tightly and said, "Love you sweetie, we'll try to get back in time for your dance class."

"Kay, be careful Mommy," Eliza told her.

"I will," Beckett said slightly laughingly. She then hugged her father and said, "We'll call when we can get back."

"Alright," Jim said before they turned to look at Castle as he was embracing Eliza tightly.

"We'll be careful, for now we're just going to help Brad talk to someone," he was telling the little girl.

"Kay, be careful and watch Mommy too," Eliza said sternly.

"I will," Castle said, smiling at her.

After a last goodbye Beckett followed her husband to the entry where they merely grabbed their coats before heading into the car and driving out to the station. She was out first since her husband had driven and she said, "Hopefully the editor is here."

"He should be, you know Brad wouldn't call us to make us wait," Castle replied. They hurried inside the building before they then saw the chief was talking to Bernier.

"Hey, something before the editor gets here," the chief said once he turned to look at them.

"He's not here," Castle stated, glancing at his wife.

"Almost, look I got a call from CSU and they managed to find a fragment from the bomb," Brad replied. "I want you to see it."

Following him over to his office Beckett saw one of the murder boards was filled in before she saw the picture he meant. "That looks like part of a horse bridle," she said in surprise.

"Was it part of the bomb or outside?" Castle asked.

"Part," Brad said. "Now I sent it to the FBI of course and suggested that maybe it was Gordon Easter."

"And who is that?" Castle said.

"He works at a stable at the end of the island," Brad explained. "And he was the one suspect we had that I told you about."

"He's here," Beckett stated.

"He is, I'm having Hutchinson looking into him a little further than where he works," Brad replied. "Hopefully if it's him we can pick him up soon and finish with this."

Castle was going to say something when he heard footsteps coming up to the office and he looked over with the others to see that it was Hutchinson and she had a file in her hand. It went to Brad first, and he watched his friend read it before a frown appeared on his face. He wondered if he should ask what was wrong when the chief began to speak as he handed the file over to Beckett.

"He's off the grid," she said, looking at her husband. Beckett then said to Brad, "And for a while."

"I know," he replied. "But what really surprised me was his record after '06."

"What?" Castle asked, looking over his wife's shoulder as she was reading what he assumed was Easter's arrest record. "What about the stables?"

"He was fired eight months ago," Beckett told him. "And that's about when he went off the grid."

"And the arrest record?" Castle asked.

"Drugs," Brad said. "Which was a surprise since he never had that before."

"They start way before he got fired," Castle said as he was reading the file his wife had given to him. He frowned and said, "If that's the case how did he get hired?"

"He gave a false name," Brad replied. "I was talking to the stable owner before you two got here and when he found out who Easter really was he checked his record and fired him the second he saw it. I've sent out an APB across the island and I called into the city though that I'm not sure about."

Beckett was about to ask him if he'd called Ryan and Esposito when Wade came up to the doorway to let them know the editor was in the interview room waiting for them. She went after Brad over to the room, sitting on the couch while the chief sat next to her and Castle stood behind them.

"Mr. Sini," Brad began. "You know Mr. Castle and Ms. Beckett already."

"Yes, are you looking into what happened to Bledsoe?" Sini asked.

"We are," Castle replied. "Did you always call him by his last name?"

"It was what he preferred," Sini replied. He sighed and said, "I can't believe this is happening."

"This was unexpected?" Brad asked.

"Yeah, he was… he investigated of course but he never got any threats or anything," Sini said. "Though I think he was worried about the current story he was working on."

"Which was what?" Brad said.

"I don't know," Sini replied. "He was being secretive, and I thought it was something here in the Hamptons."

"He never sent you anything?" Castle said then. "You never kept track of what he was doing."

"No, he asked me not to because he didn't want to risk it," Sini replied. "He said the story was big. He was such a great journalist that I saw no problem with it; I trusted him."

"Setting aside his work," Brad said. "Did you know much about his personal life?"

"He didn't have much of one," Sini replied. He never married, no kids and as far as I knew no family." He cleared his throat slightly and said, "We were his family."

"Was he romantically involved with anyone?" Beckett asked. "At work or outside?"

"He claimed he had dated but he stopped doing that about a year ago," Sini said. He was about to speak when he stopped and then added, "Around the time he started to look into this story. We have no idea if that was true though."

"He'd been working on it for a year," Castle said, startled at that amount of time.

"He said it was going to take time and he wrote around it," Sini was quick to explain. "Things like your article."

"Did it have anything to do with Albany?" Beckett asked when they were silent for a moment, knowing her husband and Brad were thinking of what they could inquire about next.

"Actually," Sini said slowly, looking surprised. "He went up there a few times."

"Paid by the paper?" Brad asked hopefully.

Shaking his head Sini said, "He would tell me, and I'd let him go but he took care of anything financial himself. He would have been paid very well for the story if it was as big as he was saying so we would have paid him back."

"Okay, then what about his notes," Brad said.

"We found articles hinting at what he might have been writing about," Castle began as Sini looked confused. "But we had nothing from him to really indicate what he'd write about in the end. Where did he write down notes, sources?"

"He had a system," Sini began. "He'd have a briefcase and that would go everywhere with him."

Beckett looked over at the chief and she said, "There wasn't one found," knowing that without asking as she could tell from the look on Brad's face.

"He had it, he was speaking to another of my journalists Raymond Corby," Sini replied. "And he was carrying a file in one hand, the briefcase in the other."

"Where is Mr. Corby right now?" Brad asked.

"Back at the office," Sini answered. "There was one more thing. He was okay, but I did notice that every day around three for at least six months he'd be getting a call. At first, he said it was a wrong number but as it kept happening; according to him; he would say it was a past girlfriend, but I never believed him."

"Where was he receiving those calls?" Beckett inquired.

"His desk phone," Sini said. "I guess they wouldn't be too weird coming in there but… just the way he'd get after them. So quiet and… they disturbed him for some reason."

"Is there any way we can get the records for his phone?" Brad asked.

"Of course, whatever you need," Sini said seriously.

"Great, if there's anything else you recall," Brad began. He paused to let the man add anything but when he didn't he nodded and stood up. "Thank you for your help, just follow Officer Wade and he'll take you back out to the parking lot." When the man had left he looked at Castle and Beckett and told them, "I'll get started on those numbers and you two… whatever you can think of doing."

When he'd left them alone in the room Castle said to his wife, "What do you think?"

"What are the odds that Brad's former case comes here?" Beckett said.

"What's really weird is the guy from his case came out here," Castle said.

"That might be a coincidence since he did that before Brad moved down here with Lily," Beckett reminded him.

"True," Castle said slowly. "Should we say these two cases are connected now? The articles alone point to it, and with Easter here…"

"Let's wait until we can talk to Brad," Beckett replied. "And see about any recurring numbers." When her husband nodded she said, "I think I'd like some tea."

"I'll let you lead the way love," Castle told her before he followed her over to the break room.

Once they were inside Beckett was about to speak when she looked at the doorway to see Brad coming inside. "You finished already?" she asked.

"No, I set Hall to getting the records," the chief said. "It's going to take some time."

"Tea?" Castle asked when his friend looked at him.

"I'll get my own coffee," Brad replied. "But thanks. I was going to ask but never got the chance, was Eliza home when you took the dogs? Also, since I'm remembering too, did you contact to the shelter?"

"For your second question we went there as soon as we left the house," Castle answered. "And they're both fixed, trained and housebroken."

"I think we should have guessed it Rick," Beckett told her husband with a smile. "Bledsoe was fastidious."

"He was," Castle said thoughtfully as he nodded. "And the other dog is an Andalusian Hound."

"You got the adoption set and everything?" Brad asked.

"They were glad we were doing so once we told them what had happened to Bledsoe," Beckett said seriously. "And one of the trainers that works with the dogs there took a look at them and said they seem to be fine."

"Hopefully they will be," Brad said before looking at the two expectantly.

"Eliza was ecstatic," Castle replied with a smile. "Of course."

"Did she name them?" Brad asked, smiling slightly.

"No, she never mentioned it," Castle began, looking at his wife.

"She might be waiting for Julia," Beckett commented.

"No one else has named the dogs besides her, have they?" Brad asked.

"No, she's good with names," Castle replied. "And we'll take care of the baby."

"Speaking of that," Beckett said, not surprised when her husband looked at her. "This is going to be my last case Brad. Until after the baby is born."

"I had a feeling," he said. "You're nearly at the third trimester; I'm amazed you came now."

"I'm not fragile," Beckett said firmly.

"Of course not but still it can't be easy," Brad told her.

"Don't look at me," Castle said when his friend had done so. "That was her decision. And I'll agree with her, this'll be my last case until then too." He glanced at his wife and when he saw the expression on her face said, "Did you really think I'd come back without you?"

"You could," Beckett replied.

"We talked about that already," Castle said. "It's not going to happen." He glanced at Brad and said, "Sorry."

"That's alright, I'll be in my office," the chief said. "I'll call you if we get anything."

"I'll be right back," Castle said.

"Rick-" Beckett began as he left the room. But she cut herself off when he just continued and she sighed, leaning back in her seat as she looked into her mug of tea wondering if he was going to find anything out.

"Brad," Castle said as he entered the office and shut the door enough behind him.

"What?" the chief asked as he looked over at his friend from the murder board.

"Look, Kate and I are worried," Castle began.

"About what?" Brad said as he looked confused.

Castle took a moment before he gathered his courage and said, "You and Lily."

"Okay," Brad said slowly.

"Look we've all noticed how you two aren't really… you're not acting normally," Castle replied. When he finished saying that he braced himself, watching as his friend began to frown.

"Lily and I are fine," Brad said. "And if there was anything wrong it's really none of your damn business. Excuse me," he told his friend before walking out of the office.

With a sigh Castle went over to the break room and when his wife just looked at him expectantly he explained what had happened.

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said.

"You think he's telling the truth?" Castle asked her.

Studying him Beckett said, "You're a guy, did you really believe him?"

"Not in the slightest," Castle said. "What about Lily?"

"I've tried talking to her," Beckett reminded him gently as it wasn't the first time they'd talked about their friends. "And she's not saying anything either."

"It's painful to see this," Castle said, looking out into the bull pen at his friend as he was speaking to Hall.

"I know but if they don't want to tell us then there's not much we can do," Beckett replied.

"Interrogate them," Castle commented.

"I'd like to see you do that to Brad," Beckett said.

"Guys," Brad said, coming over to the doorway. "We have the numbers."

Following him over to the office Beckett asked first, "Anyone that appears at the time Sini said?"

"Yeah," Brad replied as he set the paper down on the desk. "I highlighted them already, it's local."

"Did you search it?" Castle asked.

"I'm going to right now," Brad replied as he sat down and then went on his computer. He entered the phone number and leaned back before he looked at the two to see their reactions.

"The stables, of course it would be," Castle commented when he saw that first. "But then it switches to…"

Brad rapidly searched the number that the calls switched to and said, "Local employment center," musingly.

"What're you thinking?" Beckett asked him.

"Well…" the chief said slowly as he thought about that. "Something bothering me, it's too…"

"Out in the open?" Castle suggested.

"We never found the bomber in Albany," Brad said.

"Then this could be a copycat," Beckett pointed out.

"I'd thought of that," Brad replied with a heavy exhale. "There weren't any other suspects though."

"Easter going ahead and doing what you thought, or everyone else, thought he was guilty of," Castle said.

"Thought of that too," Brad said. "I'll go out and call the center."

"You can use… your phone," Beckett started to say before he walked out.

"I really didn't think it'd make him that angry," Castle commented when he and his wife looked at each other. "But hopefully he'll calm down with the case. Okay, so now with this development I'm wondering if we can get the case file from Albany or the FBI or wherever it is."

"He's probably asked for it," Beckett said.

"You know one thing I'd wondered about?" Castle asked her. When she looked at him questioningly he told her, "Why we just suddenly are guessing it's so directly involved. For all we know someone that Bledsoe exposed, or something could have learned of what he was investigating and that's the copycat."

"It's Brad," Beckett said. "From the way he spoke he obviously lived the case and because of that he knows."

"Called them and they're going to send in footage from their phones," the chief said as he came inside. "What?" he asked them.

"Just something we were talking about," Castle said first. "You're so certain this is connected to the past case?"

Brad shook his head as he went to the murder board to write and said, "I have no idea. The only thing is the landmine and then Easter which of course could have nothing to do with Albany."

"You're hoping it does," Beckett commented.

"That case has never left me," Brad replied. "Those reporters…"

"Do you have the case file?" Castle asked as he and his wife looked at each other.

"It should be here now," Brad said as he went over to the fax machine in the office and pulled out the papers there. He handed them to Castle and Beckett, watching the two as they were reading them closely and waiting to see when they would finish.

Since there were several papers it took Castle and Beckett a long time to go through everything and when they'd finished they looked at each other.

"Nothing?" Brad asked, looking startled.

"I think," Beckett said first slowly. "You did all you could."

"But the issue becomes the evidence," Castle continued. "You had some fragments and could reconstruct the bombs, but the materials used were way too common and easy to get."

"Which we can tell was the point," Beckett said. "But the one thing that stood out to me was first the theory that Easter was a patsy."

"That was from one of the two agents I worked with," Brad said. "More desperation since they thought it was Easter."

"You should contact them to see if they'll come back to work on the case," Castle told his friend.

"I mentioned it when I called into the FBI," Brad replied. "They might come because both were very peeved we couldn't solve it."

"It sounds like they will," Castle said. He was going to continue when there was a sound from the computer on the desk and he went with his wife over to it as the chief was opening the e-mail he'd received.

"What time?" Brad asked.

"Three," Beckett replied.

Nodding Brad went through the footage until he got at the time he needed, letting it play before he sucked in a breath of air.

"Easter," Castle and Beckett said at the same time.

"It's not him," Brad said with the two. He looked at them and said, "Now it's imperative we find him." He stood up and then said, "I'll be back."

"What can he do?" Castle asked his wife when they were alone again.

"Check in with everyone he's called and the officers here," Beckett replied.

"And?" Castle prompted as he could tell that there was more.

"He might want to go around himself," Beckett said.

"Is that what you would do?" Castle asked her.

"Yes but here, not in the city," Beckett replied, walking over to the murder board as they were still standing behind the desk. "There I would just call into the other Precincts and have them call their patrol officers."

"Is she kicking?" Castle asked as she had placed her hand on her stomach.

"She is," Beckett replied, watching him walk up to her. She smiled when he lay his hand on her abdomen long enough to feel one kick before he pulled it away.

"Thank you," Castle told her.

"I think they know now," Beckett replied with a smile as he was looking out.

"What that you're pregnant? Everyone knows that," Castle said as he glanced pointedly down at her stomach.

Beckett rolled her eyes before she then said, "No, you touching me like you did."

"Are you sure you want to stop here?" Castle asked her.

"You mean until after the baby's born?" Beckett said. When he nodded she said, "I'm sure, do you remember how my last trimester was? I can't really run around town."

"How's your back?" Castle asked as he knew she meant the back pains she'd had the last trimester of her previous pregnancy.

"It's fine," Beckett said. As her husband just stared at her she said, "Really, I'm fine. If I wasn't I would let you know."

Castle sighed and said, " _I can't help but worry now_."

" _I shouldn't have mentioned it_ ," Beckett commented. " _And you did help me_."

A slight smile as he recalled the times he'd given his wife massages Castle said, " _Could do that tonight_."

Beckett smiled herself and said, " _I'd like that_."

" _Mé ndáirire, ba mhaith i ndáirire a póg tú ceart anois_ ," Castle told her seriously.

Smiling, as her husband had told her that he really wanted to kiss her right then, Beckett said softly in English, "It must be serious since you said really twice."

" _Yes_ ," Castle replied, sticking with Irish.

" _Beidh orainn anocht_ ," Beckett said gently, letting him know they'd have that that night.

" _Thank you_ ," Castle said quickly as he then looked over at the bull pen again. "He must be checking everyone," he said in English.

"I think so," Beckett replied. "At least everyone around here."

"They would have called though if they'd found anything," Castle said. "Or call it in I should say."

"They would have but you know him, he'll still want to check," Beckett replied. They walked together to the doorway, looking for Brad though they couldn't see him at first. When they saw he was in the room where dispatch was she turned to her husband and said, "Do you think Lily knows anything about it?"

"The past case?" Castle asked. When she nodded he said, "Shouldn't you know?"

"He's your friend," Beckett pointed out quickly to him.

"True," Castle said before he became thoughtful. "I think he would have told her but nothing in detail." He then looked at his wife in surprise and asked her, "Did you want to have her come here?"

"Only if it pertained to the case," Beckett replied before she went back into the office. She looked at the papers from the file on the desk and said, "I'm not surprised they weren't able to solve this."

"I forgot to ask him about the vics," Castle said. "I only got a quick look at the names," he told his wife as she was taking out the papers about them.

"Sini would know if Bledsoe knew them," Beckett commented as they read the information together.  
"Are you sure?" Castle asked her.

"No but it's worth a shot," Beckett replied. "You know what bothers me?"

"The idea of him not dating anyone," Castle stated. When she nodded he said, "There are two female vics."

"What about women?" Brad asked as he walked inside in time to hear that.

"Sini said that the vic didn't really date anyone," Beckett said. "But he looked into this case."

"You're thinking he's connected to a vic there," Brad replied. He took a deep breath and said, "I never heard of Bledsoe outside of here in the Hamptons and his articles in the _Report_."

"What if he wasn't around Albany?" Castle said.

"And they were keeping it a secret," Beckett added.

"That's possible," Brad replied. "I sent Rice and Bernier to the _Report_ and I'll get in touch with them to let them know to ask around about that. And there wasn't anything about his co-workers by the way."

"You know what that might mean though," Castle told his wife as the chief left them for a moment.

"That this was a onetime thing and the killer was making sure he wouldn't be found?" Beckett answered. At his nod she said, "I'd thought the same, but you know what worries me?"

"That they just used Bledsoe to start and it helped the killer out too," Castle replied. "Actually both ways, he can start and get rid of the man who's been trying to find him." He frowned and then said, "I really hope he'll be careful."

"Remember he's trained," Beckett told him gently.

"True," Castle replied. He then said, "Think we'll make it to the class?"

"We need to," Beckett replied firmly. "I want to go home with them to see Julia's reaction."

"Me too," Castle assured her. "We'll just have to tell Brad."

"I knew already," the chief said, coming back. "And you're fine to go… unless I need you for something of course."

"Of course," Beckett echoed.

"You could go right now," Brad said jokingly though he was serious.

"A little early," Beckett replied as it wasn't that far past one thirty.

"Oh, do you want to go right at the start of the class?" Brad asked.

"We can go at three thirty or four," Castle replied. "If we can go earlier great but that we have to leave up to you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Brad said before he walked over to the murder board. "We need another one," he said suddenly.

As her husband left; saying he'd go to get it; Beckett told the chief, "You think it's connected."

"I'm leaning more towards it," Brad answered. "This is just in case anyways, if there's nothing connecting these then I'll put it away."

"You're hoping," Beckett then told him.

Nodding Brad said, "Is that wrong of me?"

"I'll let you in on a secret," Beckett told him, going to one of the chairs in front of the desk to turn it around so she could sit. "Every case I got once I reached detective I looked at hard to make sure my mother's case wasn't connected. Eventually I stopped."

"Which is why Coonan surprised you," Castle said, coming inside with the second murder board.

Beckett nodded and said, "But don't let it consume you because that's what happened to me and why I stopped."

Brad sighed and said, "I've never let the case go and I've done the same, but I've been careful. There was a co-worker of mine in Albany who couldn't let go of finding the man who had robbed his mother and mugged her. It nearly cost him his job." He rubbed his eyes before he said, "I'll get started on this."

"Do you-" Castle began before the newest officer came up to the doorway.

"Sir, Hutchinson is calling in," Officer Pascal said. "And she wants to talk to you directly."

"We'll take care of this," Castle called as his friend jogged out to the bull pen.

"Not really," Beckett said. "We're not as familiar with the case as him."

"He's coming back, he found something," Castle said quickly as he spotted his friend running.

"We found him, Easter is in a motel in Sag Harbor," Brad told them urgently. "And employees spotted him with a gun, let's go."

Grabbing their coats Castle and Beckett rushed out with him and Pascal and Hill, going to their car before they followed the squad cars towards the northern end of the island and their suspect.


	6. Calling Ev'ry Tune

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: It was great to get the reviews I did for the last chapters so will go right into my thank yous for that! MsNYC (I suppose I do love you readers since I had two chapters this time around, three with it divided of course. And I'm not surprised in the prologue that you knew Bledsoe was going to die when he sidestepped the hole. But I'm glad you thought it was a great setup with that! I also wasn't surprised that you were happy that the dogs weren't hurt, and Castle and Beckett took them in. And yep, each kid has two dogs, lol, something in me wanted to write that. And great you can't wait to see Julia's reaction to them too as well as what she'll name them. I'm not surprised that you're hoping Brad and Lily will work things out, and yeah I try to convey when I can that they are as loving as Castle and Beckett so have to see how things work out with them. Glad to see you think it's great writing as usual! I wasn't surprised seeing that you're hoping they close the case with the right perpetrator),

TORONTOSUN (Nice to read that you thought the first half was good writing. And I'm not surprised that you still like when Beckett goes into cop mode, lol),

Mb (Your review was a couple chapters back, but I'll respond to it here since you did review that short one. The wow was nice to read first thing in the chapter. And I wasn't surprised that you thought I started off the story innocently with the reporter confirming his serious story and then the fluff one about Castle and Beckett. And yeah, I wanted the moments where he goes home and talks to his editor about the story about Castle and Beckett and then walks the dogs to be very innocent. So I'm not surprised you were caught by surprise when he sidestepped the hole and then stepped by the bomb. I'm really glad though that I surprised you since you said you thought he would find the body; I suppose I did a really good job with the innocent start. And I'm not surprised you're asking if he was targeted. And your summations about the planning for that are interesting, you'll see how that plays out of course. So happy that you though it was another fantastic start. You're very welcome!),

Mb (So happy that you thought the last chapter was another really great update. And of course, I'm glad that you love how in tune Castle and Beckett were and are, along with how intense and loving they are together as you said. I'm not surprised you loved the tradition they had about picking the baby's clothes for the first two weeks, thought that would be fun to do. And I'm glad you like Brad and Lily together and hope they can fix whatever's bothering them since I like to write them myself. I'm not surprised you thought it was obvious that Castle would volunteer to take in the two dogs, lol. And yep, some more info on Bledsoe there with more bombings. So nice to read that you thought it was a fantastic update. Of course, I'm happy to see you thought the second half was another great update too. I'm pleased you're glad they adopted the other 2 dogs, I would have had them do that if they weren't trained already. Plus, with the other dogs trained as well I figured they would welcome them but not surprised you're glad about that too. And I wasn't surprised either that you loved Eliza's reaction to the new dogs, lol, couldn't write it any other way. Oh, also wasn't surprised that you were mentioned Brad's past case or that you were wondering if the suspect at the end is going to be a true one or just the fall guy. Glad you could understand Brad's reaction to Castle's questioning about him and Lily. That's definitely something he wouldn't want to be asked or would think he should even though Castle's a friend of course. But I'm not surprised you're hoping that whatever's going on with them won't affect their relationship and that you think they're so good together. Great reading that you think the case is gripping already. Not surprised you suspect it'll have many twists and turns to come as you put it, lol, you'll see how it goes of course. And you're very welcome for sharing!) and

vetgirlmx (I had to laugh a bit at the way you reacted to the end of the chapter, it didn't surprise me since I know your skepticism about the end of the chapters like that, lol. Have to see if you're right if they just get their first clue there. And I'm glad you sense already that the past case was a very tough one for Brad since I wanted to convey that, and not surprised you sensed too it'll give him more stress. I am happy to read that you're worried about him; since I'd been hoping that readers would be of course. You'll see what's going on of course, see if I surprise you at all with what's going on. Though you are right that you readers haven't seen him so tense, so you're not used to that. Glad that you expected them to adopt the dogs, had to laugh that you mentioned Julia's comment about two more dogs in the prologue, lol. And nice to read you were very glad that you were right. And you're right, there are 6 big dogs there that will at times outnumber the humans, but I do hope it'll be interesting for you and the other readers to see. I'm also not surprised that you're not risking a guess, as you put it, about the case. But I am happy that you think it'll be really interesting as well as stressful… well, not so much the latter part, lol. And of course, I am very pleased that you can't wait to see more of it and now don't need to wait to read anymore!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Tears of the World_ by George Harrison, from the rejected track list of his album _Somewhere in England_.

Calling Ev'ry Tune

"What is it?"

"What do you mean?"

"I can see you looking over at me constantly and it's starting to get a little irritating. What do you want to ask me?"

"Are you okay?"

"I just jogged over to the car and not that far love."

"Still it can't be that good."

"Rick," Beckett said firmly.

"I'm sorry I can't help but be concerned," Castle said seriously.

"I'm alright and I won't run again today okay?" Beckett asked him, looking over at him.

"Yeah…" Castle said before trailing off.

"What else?" Beckett asked as she could tell from his tone of voice that that wasn't it.

"The crime scene," Castle said.

Beckett let out a soft sigh before she said, "I won't deny that it didn't bother me a little, but the protest bombing wasn't the first bombing scene I'd been to." She glanced at her husband and seeing he was watching her she told him, "Just before I was moved up to detective there was an explosion in someone's apartment. Turns out it was two men who were going to bomb a parade the next week and they made a mistake with the device they were putting together. It wasn't pretty of course but I can imagine it's bothering you."

At first Castle was going to deny that but knew his wife was merely starting at him so he finally said, "It is, just a lot of bad memories. I was glad we saw Eliza that soon afterwards."

"Me too," Beckett said as she knew how he felt. She then looked out the windshield and seeing they were pulling up to a hotel she told him, "It's not that long."

"I know," Castle replied as he was parking and they got out. They stood together at their car while Brad went into the lobby and Pascal and Hill were watching the doors to the rooms waiting for the chief to come back.

"He's still here," Brad said, walking out to them briskly eventually. "And he's around the back so I need you two to cover."

"And you?" Castle asked uneasily.

"I have my gun," Beckett replied as the chief looked at her.

"Brad-" Castle said immediately.

"Just as my backup," the chief said firmly.

"I'll be fine," Beckett said.

"I can cover her sir," Hill told him.

"Good. Castle? Stay here," Brad said.

Castle wanted to speak but with his friend's tone; and his use of his last name; he knew he wasn't going to be able to go after them. So as his wife took out her weapon he stayed at the trunk of their car, watching as the two went around the building quickly. As soon as Hill and Pascal were gone as well he jogged as quietly as he could after them.

Staying at the corner Castle peered around it and could see the two officers were standing in the shade of some trees at the edge of the road that went around the hotel, looking up with their weapons in hand. He cursed in his mind when he saw that and tried to keep out of the way as he wished there was a way he could get around the two to make sure his wife would be alright.

Once they'd gone to the second floor Beckett murmured to the chief, "He'll be around here you know."

"I figured, just as long as he doesn't run after you it's fine," Brad replied. "He's in two ten," he told her. When she nodded he led the way to the door, six more down and then got on the other side of it so he could face her. "Easter," he called, hitting the door with his open palm. "This is the Hamptons Police, open the door!"

Beckett held her gun a little higher as she could hear the heavy footsteps of someone walking to the door. It flew open and she aimed the weapon as Brad would be the first person Easter would see.

"Thought it was you," the man said as his red eyes focused on the chief. "Detective Davis been a while."

"That's Chief," Brad said simply. "Turn around," he told the man.

"Yeah, yeah," Easter said. He glanced over at Beckett then; who was standing to the other side of the door, her gun against her leg. He blinked a few times and said, "Mom?"

Beckett didn't say anything as she was aware the man was hallucinating, and she walked after Brad as he led the man over to the stairs. She wasn't surprised to find her husband standing with Pascal as Hill went up the stairs to secure the room. "I'm alright," she told him as soon as she had reached him.

"He's not," Castle said.

"How long have you been here?" Beckett asked.

Castle breathed out heavily and then said, "I was standing around the corner," pointing it out to her.

"I'm impressed," Beckett said with a smile as her husband looked startled. "I thought you were going to run up to the second floor and try to stay at the end of the rooms."

"I was tempted but Brad would have really been on me for that," Castle replied.

"You're not wrong," the chief said as he came over to them. "And thank you for not doing that too."

"What's his story? What was his drug of choice?" Castle then said as they could see in the distance Pascal leaving with Easter.

"I don't think he had a specific one," Brad said as he motioned them to follow him. "But there was the scent of something in that room."

"I didn't get it," Beckett said when her husband looked at him.

"Should you go in though?" Castle asked her as they reached the second floor.

"I have masks, hold on," Brad said.

"I can get them," Castle said. He took the keys that his friend handed him and then jogged back to the stairs, unaware the two were watching him.

"This doesn't bother you?" Brad asked.

"I'm used to it," Beckett replied as she leaned against the railing looking out at the buildings that side of the hotel faced. "He's done this before."

Brad nodded and told her, "I'll go in-"

"I don't think so," Beckett told him, grabbing his coat sleeve. When the chief looked at him she said, "Lily wouldn't really be happy to hear you collapsed from fumes in there." She watched as Brad walked away from her then and she just looked at him as he came back, waiting.

"It's… after New Year's something happened she's been withdrawn so I…" the chief replied, shaking his head.

"Have you talked to her?" Beckett asked, leading with a simpler question though she already knew the answer.

"Of course, but she just says we need a break," Brad said.

"A break? As in separation?" Beckett asked, shocked.

"I don't know when I said that she just turned away and left," Brad replied, not noticing his friend walking up to them. "I've been sleeping in one of our guest bedrooms for almost three weeks now," he muttered. He then looked at Beckett and paused when he saw Castle behind her before he recovered and told them, "I'm not sure if I should try again or give up."

"You might regret it if you do," Castle said. "Try," he urged his friend.

"CSU is here, we can get started," Brad said firmly. He took one of the masks that Castle was holding and threw it on before he ducked into the room as his friend and Beckett watched.

" _I think you should talk to her_ ," Castle said quickly.

" _I'll try_ ," Beckett replied before she took the mask he was handing her. She put it on quickly and then walked with him inside the room just as CSU was walking down to them.

"Good thing you got those masks," Brad said when he looked up at her. "Also that Hill didn't come inside."

"I know," Beckett said, looking at the sink that was outside the bathroom. On the counter space next to it there was a mini meth lab and she said, "Anything else besides this?"

"Some cocaine I would imagine," Brad said, nodding to a razor on the desk. "Some white residue on it," he added before he motioned to one of the unit that had come in.

"I've got some joints," Castle said. "Lesser than those two but he might have been high."

"No, he thought I was his mother," Beckett said.

Since she was looking at him Brad said, "From what I remember of his history his mother died in childbirth… I shouldn't have answered."

Shaking her head Beckett said, "You should have, and you did. Now should we start pawing through his things?"

"Actually, I'd like you two to step out," Brad told them seriously. "I don't want to risk you being injured; you know David would have my head. Or my job."

"Alright, we'll be at our car," Castle said, touching his wife's arm. He was relieved when she didn't argue, and they stepped out together to head downstairs. "Okay?" he said as they took off their masks quickly.

"I'm fine, these helped," Beckett said. When he continued to look at her she smiled briefly and assured him saying, "I am okay but he's right, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea if I stayed over there."

"How is he not dead?" Castle asked.

"I can tell you why; he wasn't taking everything at once," Brad said as he came up to them. "I'm certain the meth was something he could make on his own; the marijuana was him trying to make money."

"Those looked like personal use," Castle said. "And that's legal here now."

"Black market," Beckett said.

"She's right," Brad said quickly as he could see his friend was going to protest. "It wouldn't have made him much money, but it was a way to make a living without getting in trouble."

"They're looking at everything?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, there's not much I can do," Brad replied. "But we can't really talk to Easter right now as he's high from meth at least."

"He seemed a little mellow for meth," Castle said.

"Then from some drug," Brad said in slight exasperation. "He needs to come down before we can get any kind of answers that will be relevant."

"Which means…" Castle said slowly. When his friend just looked at him he said, "I could use some coffee."

"Do we need to get for the whole station?" Beckett asked, knowing already what the chief meant.

"Just yourselves," Brad said.

"We can have them delivered," Beckett pointed out to him.

"And we know the orders," Castle added.

"Alright go," Brad told them. "Go and I'll see you when you finish but please take your time and if I need you there sooner I'll text."

Thanking him Castle and Beckett got into their car and he drove them out to the café close to the station where they had been many times. Once they had stopped they got out of the car together and then went over to the building, looking at each other when they could see inside.

"Doesn't surprise me," Castle commented.

"Or me either," Beckett replied with a smile before they headed inside to who they'd seen through the window.

* * *

Jim, sitting on a table chair he'd brought to the hall, smiled as he watched his granddaughter skipping around the dogs before Rita got up and went after her. When Eliza crowed in mock disappointment he said, "I don't think they know how to play duck, duck, goose."

"I wish they did," Eliza replied with a sigh. She then giggled and said, "Can I play that with the baby?"

"Of course," Jim assured her. "But I should let you know now you're going to need to wait until she gets a little older."

"Jules had to wait for me," Eliza said, going to him and leaning against his knee. She smiled up at him and said, "Are you excited for the baby?"

"I am," Jim said firmly. He smiled when Eliza giggled and then leaned against him and he said, "You didn't think I was?"

"I did but she's a girl," Eliza told him.

"I loved the baby the second your mother told us she was going to have one," Jim replied as he helped her onto his lap. "Like your father I didn't care what the baby was."

"Good, the baby will love you too Grandpapa," Eliza said seriously. "And Gram too."

"I'm glad to know that," Jim said. "What should we do now?" he then asked her as he watched her.

"Can I make art?" Eliza asked. "With the doggies!"

"Well you can make some art," Jim said as he stood up, holding her on his hip. "But I'm not sure about getting the dogs involved."

"What does that mean?" Eliza asked him.

"Letting them join in," Jim replied. "Actually, they should make a quick trip outside."

"Oh, I know what to do!" Eliza said eagerly before her grandfather set her down. She called to the dogs; not using their names because she didn't have any for sure for two of them yet; and she rushed over to the door leading to the backyard. She watched them go out once her grandfather had opened it and then turned to him saying, "Then will you do some art with me?"

"I think I can," Jim replied. "But what?"

Thinking Eliza finally said, "Painting, I want to make a picture for Mommy and Daddy. You can make what you want."

"Thank you," Jim said with a slight laugh. He leaned down to kiss the top of her head and led her over to the family room since the dogs would be able to come back inside the house on their own. He began to set up the easel the girls used, putting up two pieces of paper as he'd been serious about working with her. Once his granddaughter was set with a brush and paints he sat on an armchair on the other side from her and began himself as she peered around to look at him.

"What are you painting Grandpapa?" Eliza asked interestedly.

"You'll see when I finish," Jim replied. He leaned over to look at her and asked, "What about you?"

"I'm not saying Grandpapa," Eliza giggled. "You'll see."

"Okay," Jim replied before he turned his attention back to his painting. While he was working on it he couldn't help looking over at his granddaughter a few times before she glanced up at him.

"Did I put paint on my face?" Eliza asked.

With a smile Jim shook his head and said, "You remind me so much of your mother when she was the same age."

Smiling widely; since she loved hearing that; Eliza said, "Yeah?"

"Of course, with your eyes and the shape of your face it's as if your mother is four again," Jim said.

"I'm almost five now Grandpapa," Eliza said, still smiling though that time a little shyly.

"I know," Jim replied.

"The baby is gonna look like Mommy too," Eliza said firmly, looking back at him after painting a line on her paper.

"Oh?" Jim asked with a smile.

"Yeah and I hope she has Daddy's eyes," Eliza told him. She then became serious and said, "Did you know Mommy wanted me to have Daddy's eyes."

"I knew, your sister told me," Jim replied. "Julia," he clarified for her when she looked at him questioningly.

"Yeah… but Mommy still loves me," Eliza told him.

"Your mother loved you when you were still inside her too, so the color of your eyes didn't matter," Jim replied though he couldn't help smiling at her expression. "And she'd like them to be, not she needs them to be. That's very different."

"Yeah," Eliza said thoughtfully. She smiled when her grandfather playfully pinched her chin and she said, "Can we paint again after?"

"I don't think so," Jim replied. "You have some worksheets to do, don't you?"

"Yeah," Eliza said with a sigh. She giggled and then said, "Kay but I want to play with the doggies again." When her grandfather nodded slightly to her she then said, "Do you like the doggies?"

"I do," Jim replied. "I wish your grandmama and I could have gotten a dog for your mother, but our apartment was too small."

"For a little doggie?" Eliza asked.

"We would have gotten a bigger one," Jim explained. "But I'm glad she has them now," he added before his granddaughter nodded. She went back to painting and he smiled before he went back to his own. They worked in silence before she was coming around to him and he asked her, "All done?"

"Yeah, did you finish?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"See?" Jim told her with a smile.

Looking at the lines of greens and blues Eliza nodded and said, "Pretty Grandpapa. Come see mine."

Getting up to go around and look at it Jim said, "Tell me about it."

"These are all the doggies and they are playing duck, duck goose," Eliza replied.

"Very nice, we'll let them dry for now and you can show your parents later," Jim said.

"I have to do the papers now?" Eliza asked him.

"You do but let's wash up first before we go ahead and get started on those," Jim replied. He helped her with washing her hands and the paintbrushes before he set her to working on the worksheets her mother had picked out.

"What am I doing first?" Eliza asked eagerly as her grandfather handed her a pencil.

"According to your mother…" Jim began as he looked at the papers. "Some writing practice, math; you'll need your little bears for those."

"Mommy knows I like those," Eliza said with a wide smile.

"That's probably why she picked out this one," Jim replied. "And your last paper is about spelling."

"Good," Eliza said firmly.

"You want to?" Jim asked her.

"Yeah," Eliza told him, nodding with a smile. She then grew serious and said, "Will you help me Grandpapa?"

"Of course," Jim replied as he sat on the couch next to her. "What do you need help with?"

"Math," Eliza replied. She watched her grandfather get the container that the large plastic counting bears were in and she said, "Mommy and Daddy wrote them down."

"I know," Jim said with a nod. "I recognize their handwriting. So why don't we use just one color right now?"

"Kay," Eliza said. She watched him take out some blue bears and smiled as he set them in front of her.

"Alright honey what's your first problem?" Jim asked her.

"It's… two plus… four," Eliza read carefully.

"I think you know how to do this already," Jim said when she just looked at him.

When he looked at her Eliza giggled and then got two bears before she then counted out four. "I have one, two, three… four, five and six," she said after counting them.

"Good job," Jim assured her. When she had written the answer down he then said, "Let's try a different color for the next one and this time count them out yourself."

"Kay," Eliza said somberly before she looked down at her next problem. "I have two plus five."

"Go ahead," Jim said.

Eliza took out two and then counted out five before she tried her best to count them out all together. "Six?" she said slowly.

"You're close," Jim said. "Try again."

"One, two, three, four, five, six… seven?" Eliza said.

"Good job," Jim said with a smile before he leaned over and kissed her temple.

Eliza nodded and then did the same with the rest of her problems until she was finished with the paper. She let her grandfather check her answers again before she asked, "What can I do now?"

"You can decide," Jim replied.

"Spelling," Eliza said eagerly.

"You don't practice your writing first?" Jim asked.

"Oh… I guess so," Eliza said with a sigh. She then got that paper and said, "I don't write that good Grandpapa."

"Of course not," Jim said. When his granddaughter looked at him with wide eyes he smiled and told her, "You're only four, it takes time to learn to write."

"I wish it didn't," Eliza said. "But I'm gonna be five."

"You are," Jim said with a nod. "And as you get older you're going to be able to write much better. But you know what you need to do to get better?"

"Practice?" Eliza asked.

"Exactly," Jim said, slightly surprised when she giggled.

"Mommy and Daddy say that too," Eliza told him. "I have to write a v and a t," she said as she was looking at the paper.

"Think you can do it?" Jim said, watching her pick up her pencil.

"Yeah," Eliza replied. She then tried her best to trace the letter v on the paper and groaned when she went off the letter.

"It's alright," Jim said quickly as he'd seen that. "That's why there are so many to trace, they know you might need to practice more than once."

"Kay," Eliza said.

Jim watched her as she stuck her tongue out between her lips slightly and began to write, smiling at how adorable she looked. He couldn't help himself and he wrapped his arm around her carefully, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

Eliza, beaming widely at her grandfather, climbed up on his lap and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a loud, smacking kiss on the cheek before she said, "I love you Grandpapa."

"I love you too honey, I'll have to tell your sister the same," Jim replied as he held her close to him.

"'lexis too?" Eliza asked him.

"Tomorrow when we talk to her," Jim said with a nod.

"Are you sad she doesn't call you Grandpapa?" Eliza asked him.

"Oh no, I'm just glad she calls me Jim instead of sir," he replied. "Or Mr. Beckett."

"No, you are her grandpapa too," Eliza said with a smile.

"She said I was, so I am," Jim replied. He shared another kiss with her before letting her go back to the coffee table and he said, "Are you thirsty?"

"No, I wanna write," Eliza said.

"Why are you so eager to write?" Jim asked while she was picking up her pencil.

"I wanna write like Jules does," Eliza replied. She then looked up at her grandfather and said, "Do you think Mommy and Daddy will?"

"If that's what you want," Jim replied. He then thought of something and asked, "Do you want to write with all three of them or just your parents on your own."

"With just Mommy and Daddy," Eliza said shyly.

"Have you told them that?" Jim asked, thinking he knew the answer already. When she shook her head, he smiled slightly and said, "Tell them, they might want to do that with you separately."

Eliza frowned a little and said, "I think they want me to share with Jules."

Shaking his head Jim said, "That might not work, you might be a little different in writing than your sister is."

The little girl blushed slightly and said, "I want to write about a girl, not a doggie."

"Doing what?" Jim asked.

Looking down at her pencil Eliza thought for a moment before she said, "I guess stuff stealing…"

When his granddaughter looked at him Jim quickly corrected her saying, "Stolen. And that would be better for you to write but you can make it different."

"I want to," Eliza said. When her grandfather asked her how she shook her head and said, "I wanna tell Mommy and Daddy first."

"Okay, then we should get back to your worksheets so we can do something after before everyone gets home," Jim told her.

"Kay," Eliza said quickly before she turned her attention to her worksheet and went back to writing.

After he had checked her worksheet Jim got the last one ready for her, watching her spelling the words by saying the letters out loud. When she got to where she needed to write down those words he watched her for a while before he then got up, going over to the kitchen as the dogs were all laying near her and he trusted them to watch her.

"Grandpapa?" Eliza asked after she had finished with her worksheets and saw her grandfather was coming over to her.

"Yes honey?" Jim said as he handed her a glass of milk.

"You left me by myself," Eliza told him seriously.

With a smile Jim told her, "Not really, I know the dogs will take care of you and you'd let me know if something was wrong right?"

"Yeah," Eliza said with a smile as she stood up and took a sip of her milk. She then said, "Grandpapa?"

"Yes," Jim said as he was watching her.

"What do I call our new doggies?" Eliza asked.

"Just say girl or boy for the time being," Jim said. "Unless you want to use their names."

"No," Eliza said, shaking her head firmly. "I'll say that." She looked around and said, "What do we do now Grandpapa?"

"Still a while until your class," Jim said as he checked the time on his watch. "And I think we can go outside with them."

"Will they run away?" Eliza asked though her tone was also eager.

"No," Jim said. He then took his granddaughter's hand and together they walked out of the hallway down to the kitchen so he could rinse her glass. As he was doing so he noticed something on the counter out of the corner of his eye and sucked in a breath.

"What is it Grandpapa?" Eliza asked in concern as she was watching him.

"Your mother forgot the medicine she needs to take," Jim replied, picking up the case that held it.

"For the baby?" Eliza said. When her grandfather nodded she gasped and said, "She needs them! Can't we take them to her?"

"Let me see where they are," Jim replied as he got his phone out of his pocket. He called first his daughter's phone and then his son in law's before he said, "I think they're out doing something with Brad."

"Then we can take them to the station," Eliza told him.

"Why don't we go down to the café and get something and wait until I can get in touch with them," Jim said before he remembered something. "Let me call the station itself first."

Eliza waited a little impatiently as her grandfather dialed his cell phone again and hopped from foot to foot before Rosie nudged her wrist with her nose. She scratched behind the Deerhound's ears before Jim hung up and she asked, "Are they there?"

"No, they went out like I thought," Jim replied. "I think they're bringing a suspect in so let's wait at the café as they're going to come that way and we'll see them."

"Did you go to the station?" Eliza asked.

"I haven't," Jim said as he took the case with the medicine and they walked together over to the entry. "But we're not going to go inside okay? It's just to take your mother the medicine."

Eliza nodded and then let her grandfather help her with her coat before he got his and they went to his car outside once she'd said a quick goodbye to the dogs. She was a little impatient as they drove out onto the street, wanting to see her parents and wanting to get the medicine to her mother as she was worried about her getting it. When they got to the café and she was holding her grandfather's hand she said, "Will the baby be kay?"

"Yes," Jim said shortly as he was opening the door for them. "It just needs the medicine today."

Though she wasn't really that reassured Eliza nodded and said when they were in line, "Can I get a drink?"

"You can get some cider," Jim answered. "I think that's all your parents would want you to get right now."

"A cookie?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"I think the cider is enough," a voice said behind the two.

"Mommy!" Eliza squealed when she saw her first though it had been her father who'd spoken. She rushed over to her and hugged her tightly before she remembered and said, "Mommy your medicine!"

"My-" Beckett started to say.

"We forgot your pills love," Castle said when she stopped herself.

"I forgot them," Beckett said as she took her case from her father.

Castle wanted to argue the point but decided it wasn't necessary so instead he just nodded and walked down the line with her father and their youngest. "Is that why you two are here?" he asked them.

"I tried calling you, but it looks like you had your phones off…" Jim started to say.

"They are, we were trying to find someone," Castle explained.

"Did you?" Eliza asked her mother.

"We did," Beckett replied.

"Shouldn't you be at the station?" Jim asked his daughter.

"We need to wait a little," Beckett said. "So we're getting coffee delivered to the station for everyone else and then waiting here for Brad to call us back," she continued. "Rick can you order for me?"

"I'll take care of everything love," Castle said with a nod. He watched her go over to a table with their youngest and then turned to his father in law, a little startled to see he was looking back at him seriously. "Anything wrong?" he asked.

"No but I get the feeling there's something wrong with you," Jim replied.

"It's the case," Castle said after pausing for a moment. He then explained it quickly and in a low tone of voice so no one else would hear them and when he had finished added, "Hopefully this'll stay just the one incident but…"

"That's not what's bothering you," Jim said.

"No," Castle said. "Kate told you about the bombing case we worked on together."

Glancing around them Jim said, "She did, back when she was working on it as well. But it wasn't until well after you were both together that she told me what had happened to the two of you."

"That long?" Castle said in surprise.

"She was feeling a little unsure of your relationship at the time," Jim told him. When he saw that his son in law was looking at him questioningly he said, "Shortly before that dinner we had with your mother."

"Oh," Castle said.

"I don't think you need to worry about that," Jim told him bracingly. "You're going into your sixth year of marriage and your fourth child is on the way."

"I keep thinking of that," Castle said with a slight smile before they walked over to the next register that was open.


	7. Calling Ev'ry Tune (Part 2)

"Did you finish the case Mommy?" Eliza asked her mother as soon as they'd sat at one of the tables.

"I wish we had but we're still working on it," Beckett said, running her hand over the back of her head.

"What happened?" Eliza then said.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "It doesn't matter. What I'm wondering about much more is how it is with our new dogs."

Eliza smiled and said, "They are nice doggies, but I don't have names to call them."

"As soon as your sister sees them they'll have names we can call them," Beckett assured her. She gently kissed her temple and said, "Did you do your worksheets."

"Yeah, they are all done," Eliza told her with a smile. She sighed and then said, "When can you come to the class?"

"That's the question," Beckett said. "We don't know yet, but we told Brad already that we need to go to at least see the last half hour of your class."

"Oh… thank you Mommy," Eliza said with a wide smile.

"You're welcome," Beckett said. She looked over at her husband and father and said, "Everything ready for the station?"

"They're starting on it right now," Castle said. "Luckily there weren't too many people behind me."

"What if there had been?" Jim asked.

"They would have had some other workers start on them," Beckett answered for her husband. "We've done this before."

"Mommy can Grandpapa go see the station?" Eliza asked suddenly as Castle left to get their four drinks.

"I don't think now is the best time for that sweetie," Beckett told her. "Maybe another time okay?"

"Kay," Eliza replied as she looked a little disappointed.

"It's not the best time for me," Jim said. "Like your mother said and that's because they're working on a case. You don't want to distract them from work, do you?"

Eliza shook her head and then climbed onto his lap to sit with him as they watched Castle coming back with their cups. She took hers with cider and then watched the others starting to drink before she remembered the reason she and her grandfather were there. She was about to speak when her father began to, saying almost exactly what she'd been about to to her surprise.

"Your medicine love," Castle told his wife.

"I know," Beckett said, opening one of the compartments of the case. She wasn't surprised to see Eliza was watching her and she said, "I didn't tell you both thank you for bringing these."

"You're welcome," Jim said as he was helping Eliza down off his lap.

"Did the baby kick today when you were working?" the little girl asked her mother as she pressed her hand to her stomach.

"A few times," Beckett said, startled to realize that the baby hadn't kicked when they'd been getting Easter. She finished her last pill and said, "Did you two start the worksheets or wait?"

"We waited," Jim said with a smile. "She wanted to play with the new dogs for a little."

"To see if they were nice like our doggies," Eliza said quickly as she thought her mother would be mad.

"Are they?" Castle asked.

"They-" Eliza started to say before she paused as she felt the baby kicking a couple times near her hand. She giggled and then told her mother, "They are, I can't wait for Jules to give them names."

"Me too," Beckett said. "I'd like to see what she picks out."

"I think we definitely should stop at six love," Castle commented. When his wife looked at him he said, "She'll run out of names from songs to choose from."

Beckett shook her head and asked him in Irish, " _Did you explain the case to him_?"

" _I did_ ," Castle replied. " _So he knows. Why_?"

Glancing at her father quickly Beckett said, " _Just so he knows_."

"Mommy?" Eliza asked, having been looking back and forth between them.

"Sorry sweetie we were just checking on something," Beckett said easily. "Oh," she then said to both her and her father. "I told Brad earlier that this will be my last case until after the baby is born… and likely after summer as well," she said, adding the last as she looked at her husband.

"Most likely," Castle said in agreement.

"Are you gonna work Daddy?" Eliza asked him.

"Oh no, I wouldn't want to," Castle replied. "And that way I can keep an eye on your mom." He smiled when his wife rolled her eyes before he said, "And we'll be home for you and your sister."

"And the doggies," Eliza added quickly. She smiled when her parents laughed and then started to sip at her drink again while the adults spoke, trying to go slowly so her parents wouldn't have to go back to work.

"You said Brad would text you?" Jim asked the two as they'd finished their drinks and his daughter and son in law weren't getting ready to leave.

"He said," Beckett replied. She looked at her husband and when he shrugged she said, "We can go check now; how would you like to go with us to do that?"

"Can we?" Eliza asked eagerly.

"She's right, could we?" Jim said in surprise.

"Just into the lobby," Beckett said. "We'd take you through to the bull pen if we could but since they're working we can't really do that."

"You can look through the big window Grandpapa and look there," Eliza said eagerly.

"If it's alright," Jim began slowly.

"It will be," Beckett assured him. She wasn't surprised when Eliza started to jump up and down in her joy and she stood, helping the little girl with her coat and outer layers. "We'll walk," she told her husband and father.

"I'll go with you," Castle was quick to say.

"I'll take the car," Jim said. "Is there anywhere special I need to park?"

Shaking her head Beckett said, "If you're parking in the front anywhere is fine."

Outside Castle split from his father in law with his wife and daughter and they began to walk over to the station.

"You haven't said much love," Beckett told him once they were on their way.

With a slight smile Castle said, "You'd know better than me if it was okay for them to go. And I know Brad is my friend," he said quickly when she opened her mouth to speak. "But you were a cop too so you'd know about this."

"Okay," Beckett said with a soft laugh. "I really hope things will be ready," she said.

"Do you want to go back to work?" Eliza asked, looking up at both her parents since she was walking in between them.

"We do, that way we can go home soon," Castle commented.

"You know," Beckett then said. "You'll have to tell us when we have dinner what you and your grandpapa did after you played with the dogs."

Her eyes wide Eliza asked, "How did you know?"

"Just a feeling," Castle said before his wife could. "But don't worry; you eventually did your worksheets so that's fine."

Eliza nodded before they reached where Jim was parked and leaning against the car as he waited for them. She rushed over to him and took his hand, starting to pull him over to the door as she could hear her parents laughing behind them while they followed.

"It's surprising even him seeing the lobby is still getting her this excited," Castle commented in a lower voice to his wife.

"I think she's proud of us," Beckett said, that realization coming to her suddenly. She had to wonder why exactly it had taken so long for that and she said, pausing as the other two were waiting at the door, "I think she still sees us as police."

Nodding Castle said, "I'd thought of that myself but wasn't sure. I guess this proved it."

Beckett nodded herself before they went up to their youngest and her father and when they stepped inside she looked around. Finding the room was empty she said, "The first time we came here it looked a lot different."

"Wasn't that station in a different place?" Jim asked her, looking over at her.

"At the other end of town," Castle answered. "They put it here to be closer to downtown and the center of the city; just easier."

"And the other towns?" Jim asked.

"They have their own substations," Castle explained.

"Brad's in charge of those too but there are sergeants there to lead those," Beckett said. "We've come into contact with some of them but not often. He takes precedence over the others."

"Over who?" Brad asked he walked over to them.

"He asked about the rest of the Hamptons," Beckett replied.

"Yeah when I first realized what all of the Hamptons was I was confused," Brad said as he picked up Eliza when she hurried over to him. "But that was well before I applied I should say," he added with a smile. "How are you Eliza? I heard you got some new dogs."

"Did you see my new doggies?" the little girl asked eagerly.

"I did, and they were very cute," Brad said as she was touching the Hamptons Police patch on the shoulder of his uniform and tracing the letters. "Are they enjoying your home?"

"Yeah and their brothers and sisters," Eliza said. She wrinkled her nose and said, "They have different names right now."

"Well I'm sure you sister will name them as soon as possible," Brad said. "She probably won't stand them not having names either." When the little girl nodded he turned to Jim and reached over, shaking his hand before he said, "Welcome to our station here, I'm guessing you met with them at the café?"

"We were hoping to see them here," Jim explained. "Katie forgot something at home."

"And Eliza asked if he could come see the station," Castle added.

"Oh well I'm sorry we can't give you a tour," Brad told him as he handed Eliza over to Castle. "But we'll have an open house… soon I believe, and you can see it then."

"If I'm here I'd love to," Jim said. He was going to say that they should probably go when Eliza was calling out to him from her father's arms.

"You didn't look inside Grandpapa," the little girl said eagerly.

"She wants me to look through the window to see inside," Jim explained to the chief.

Brad studied the man for a moment before he said, "Hold on."

"Where did he go?" Eliza asked, watching him go.

"I'm not sure," Castle said, shrugging when his wife looked at him.

"I think I have an idea," Beckett said then when she noticed that her husband and father were looking at her.

"Guys," Brad called from the window looking out on the lobby. "You can come on in; quick tour."

"Seriously?" Castle asked his friend.

"Seriously, we have a chance," Brad said, looking at his friend and Beckett pointedly.

"Well if the chief says it's alright," Castle told Eliza and his father in law; the former looking hopeful.

"He's right, if Brad says it's okay then you can go Dad," Beckett said to her father first. "And David wouldn't mind either."

"Okay but we don't need that long of a tour," Jim said as they went over to a door that the chief had opened for them next to the window.

"It won't be," Brad told them. "Also, I figure this is a way for Eliza to see where her parents are during the day."

Beckett expected her daughter to say something to that; since the little girl hadn't seen the station from anywhere but the lobby; but was slightly startled when she was silent. She looked over at her and smiled as she saw that the little girl was looking around in awe.

"Do you know everybody?" Eliza whispered eventually as she stopped looking at the room and then turned her attention to the officers that were there.

"We do," Castle said with a smile. "And they know you and your sister of course."

"Yeah?" Eliza asked, hiding her face in her father's neck as one of the female officers waved a little at her.

"They do," Beckett said, watching that. "Is that it?" she then asked Brad.

"No, they can see the break room and my office," the chief told them.

"Your… are you sure?" Castle asked as he and his wife shared a startled look at that as the murder board had pictures from the crime scenes.

"Yes," Brad told them firmly.

"What room is this?" Eliza asked, looking around.

"We call it the break room, we usually eat here or have a drink," Castle explained.

"Oh…" Eliza said, glancing at the coffee machine though she saw it wasn't like the one they had at home. She was set down and she went straight to her mother, holding her hand tightly as they then walked outside and stopped after at a desk. "What?" she asked, looking up at Beckett.

"This is where we sit… sometimes," Castle said first.

"He's right, but you should have been able to tell," Beckett said as Eliza went to the chair where her husband would sit when they were there.

"She knows about your desk you had back in the city?" Brad asked interestedly.

"There are pictures of them with the others in the Precinct," Jim explained. "At parties, the desk is behind them and you can see the chair."

"Did Jules see this?" Eliza asked.

"She has," Beckett said with a nod. "Come and see the office where we are mostly now sweetie."

"Kay," Eliza said, climbing down and then taking her mother's hand before they went over to the large room towards the back.

Beckett exchanged a relieved look with her husband at the fact that someone had moved the murder boards against the side wall, their blank sides facing the rest of the room. "We spend most of our time in here since we need to talk to Brad a lot about our cases," she told her.

"Oh… cool," Eliza said with a smile.

"Chief," Wade said, coming up to the doorway of the office. He paused and smiled at Eliza, who had run behind her father, before he continued telling them, "There's an FBI agent here, he says his last name is Scarsi."

"Scar's here?" Brad asked in shock. He looked at the others and their confusion seemed to shake him, and he said, "Thank you Wade is he in the lobby?"

"Yes sir," Wade replied.

"Okay," Brad said. "I'm afraid we need to cut this visit short," he said to Jim and Eliza.

"It was nice enough for you to let us in in the first place," Beckett's father replied.

"Yeah, thank you!" Eliza said happily.

"Do we need to hide the fact they're here?" Castle asked his friend.

"No but you can say goodbye here," Brad told them before he went over to Wade and spoke to him as he led him out.

"Bye Mommy, Daddy," Eliza said. "I like your desk."

"We do too," Castle said, picking her up so Beckett could kiss her, and he did the same.

"We'll try to see you as soon as we can," Beckett then promised, hugging her father.

"Just let me know," Jim replied before he took Eliza from his son in law.

Walking out together the group came to a man standing on his own in the lobby, looking around before he nodded to them. Castle and Beckett said goodbye to Jim and Eliza before they turned in time to see Brad walking out.

"Davis," the man said.

"Scar," Brad replied. "I'm assuming you still go by that?"

"Sure," Scarsi replied. He shook Brad's hand and asked, "How're you?"

"Okay, is this connected?" the chief asked.

Shaking his head Scarsi said, "No clue but I was told by my superior to come up here to take a look; since I've worked on cases like this already."

"And Coupe?" Brad asked. He then looked at Castle and Beckett and told them quickly, "He was Scarsi's partner."

"I think he's going to be called up here soon," the agent replied. "If he hasn't been already." He then looked at Castle and Beckett and said, "Do you need some help still?"

"These are my consultants Scar," Brad said. "Castle and Beckett."

"I heard about that but didn't think they'd be here," Scarsi replied, glancing at Beckett. "Are you sure you should be here ma'am?"

"I'm fine," Beckett replied easily, having expected that as he had been focused largely on her stomach.

"Scar," Brad said to get his attention. "They're here; I need them here because they helped me bring in Easter."

Glancing at Castle, Scarsi said, "Alright but if they're getting in the way they're gone."

Brad hesitated for a moment before he looked over at Castle and Beckett and when they both just barely nodded he said, "Fine." He then led the way inside the bull pen saying, "Easter is coherent now, I think we caught him on the tail end of whatever he was on. So I want them in with me, but you better stay out; I know he'll remember you."

"I'll be watching," Scarsi replied, going into observation that Brad pointed out to him.

"He's like that," Brad told the two. "Gruff but he's good. Now I want you to speak with him first Kate."

"Alright," Beckett said simply as she knew why he was doing that. She and her husband followed him inside the room, Easter looking up at them and speaking as soon as the door was closed behind the three of them.

"Sorry," Easter said as his attention focused on Beckett. "I was hallucinating."

Not surprised the man's speech was a little slower than it had been at the hotel Beckett simply nodded before she said, "So you've been settling in here it looks like."

"For the time being," Easter replied with a shrug.

"You have other plans?" Brad asked.

Easter opened his mouth to answer before he paused and then looked down into the cup of coffee that he'd been given.

"It would be easier on yourself if you spoke," Castle told him.

"Then can you protect me?" Easter replied, a frown on his face.

"If we knew what you needed to be protected from then yes, we can," Brad answered. "But you need to tell us."

"Okay," Easter breathed out after clearly thinking that over. "I was approached three weeks ago; to the day; to do a few… errands."

"Errands," Beckett stated.

"Make phone calls, get some scraps from the stables I used to work at," Easter answered. "And I agreed, I need the money. So I did that and then you guys came to get me."

"How were you contacted?" Brad inquired.

"Facebook," Easter answered. "They set up a meeting place at the alley behind that bar across the street from my hotel."

"Who were you approached by once you were there? A man, a woman?" Brad asked.

"I have no idea," Easter replied. "They were bundled up and I couldn't see them. I would guess a man though, just the outline of their body. They spoke in a whisper, so I couldn't guess their gender that way."

"And were you paid at the beginning?" Castle said though he thought he knew the answer already.

"Yes," Easter replied. "I thought he was crazy because there was always a chance I'd run but then he said he could track me and he'd kill me if I went back on our deal." He then looked at the three and said seriously, "And that's why I need protection."

"I'll make a note of that," Brad replied. "And how did you get these scraps to the man?"

"PO box at the post office two blocks outside of downtown," Easter said. "I had the address."

"Okay," Brad said, trying not to groan out loud at that news. "And was that the only way you got in contact with them?"

"It was just the one time," Easter replied. "That and phone calls were all I had to do."

"Where were you this morning?" Beckett said as she knew the chief was going to ask that as there wasn't much they could ask until they checked on the PO box.

"In that room, too high to move around," Easter said.

"You'll be booked for the drugs Easter," Brad said as Castle and Beckett stood and went to the door. "As for what you've done for this stranger… that will have to be seen."

"I was just supposed to be a distraction; he told me the cops would look for me," Easter said before the three could leave. "And that I'd be meeting an old friend."

"He mentioned me specifically," Brad stated.

Shaking his head Easter replied, "No, just that and that was all he said before he disappeared."

When the man put his head on the table Castle opened the door, watching his friend before they walked out in time to meet Scarsi leaving observation. He wasn't surprised when the agent motioned them away and when Brad just shrugged; looking a little helpless; he and Beckett left them, going into the break room where his wife immediately began to speak, sounding perturbed as well.

"I think I know already what we're going to find," Beckett told him. "So whoever the bomber is they're good."

"Of course, and we know we're not really going to get anything from the box, usually we don't," Castle replied.

"But we're still going to check even though you're right," Brad told the two as he entered.

"And Scarsi?" Beckett asked.

"Going to start on the PO box and start Bernier on Facebook since he's good with that of course," Brad said. "So right now, I think we should look at what CSU was able to find of the bomb itself."

"That came in?" Castle asked as they walked together to the chief's office.

"That and the security camera footage from the house nearest the bomb," Brad said. "We should be busy for a while."

Beckett wasn't surprised when her husband nodded, and they stood on either side of the chief as he opened the file to the first paper that was inside, all three of them studying it closely.

"Think this is accurate?" Castle asked as it was what CSU could imagine the bomb was.

"As much as they had to work with… who knows," Brad said with a slight sigh. "Something I didn't tell you two about; they attempted to recreate the first bomb in my Albany case."

"And did it look like this?" Castle asked.

"We had an advantage," Brad replied. "There was a piece that survived and helped them, but they stressed to me they couldn't say for sure if it was what we were looking for."

"Then we should put this as a possible piece of evidence," Castle said. "But was there ever another landmine?"

"I told you already," Brad said before he paused.

"You mean between that case and now," Beckett said, looking at her husband.

"If one was found intact or exploded," Castle replied.

"Let me take a look," Brad replied before going to the phone on his desk.

"You think the bomber missed some vics?" Beckett asked him as they went to stand just outside the doorway.

"That or guerilla fighters are trying to wage war in Albany," Castle said. "I would imagine the 'journalists' were CIA agents under cover and-"

"Hold on there," Brad said, interrupting his friend. "I just got off the phone and no, there never was. Good try though."

"I have to stay creative," Castle said before they went back into the room together and continued to look at the paperwork in the file until finally Brad set it down on his desk and began to speak to them both as he was picking out some photographs to place on the murder board at the same time.

"The video might give us a little more," Brad said. "Luckily we know that the landmine was put in the sand recently."

"How recently?" Castle asked slowly.

Looking at her husband Beckett said to Brad's expression, "He's wondering if the bomber wasn't waiting."

"Well… it was early in the morning," the chief said slowly, obviously thinking that over. "Alright, but we'll go through last night just in case as well because the security camera does have night vision." He wrote the last bit he needed before he said, "Which we can look at now. But I have to wonder that no one in the neighborhood noticed someone hanging around waiting for Bledsoe to come home. And-"

"He had to have known he had dogs," Castle quickly said, interrupting his friend. "So he knew he would have gone out. Plus, he could have been stalking him too."

"And no one noticed anything suspicious in the past either," Brad reminded them.

"What about from the water?" Beckett asked.

"By boat," Brad replied as he sat at his desk. He wasn't surprised when the two nodded and he said, "Good idea. Alright let's see what we've got here and then look at what we need to after that." He turned his attention to his computer and opened the footage he had gotten from the home to the east of where the bomb was. He started on the night before, letting it go quickly as there was nothing in the beach or the ocean. He moved to the next morning when he stopped at just barely after six when a lone figure at the top right corner of the screen that seemed to have suddenly appeared.

"Are there any homes to the west of Bledsoe's with cameras?" Castle asked.

"No, at least not close enough to see this," Brad replied. "He might have known that."

"Did you doubt he was local?" Beckett said.

"No," Brad said before he played the footage again. When the figure knelt he muttered, "Tying his shoes."

"It's likely affective," Castle commented. "Plus he's cautious; we haven't seen anyone else besides him."

"Okay," Brad said as the figure soon disappeared. He was going to continue when he then saw a boat just barely in the distance and he paused there before trying to zoom in as Castle and Beckett leaned in to look closer as well.

"He made a mistake," they said at the same time.

Brad, who hadn't spoken, looked back at the two and said, "How?"

"See that stripe?" Castle said, pointing out the one on the skiff.

"Only one marina has them," Beckett said, watching the chief to see if he would realize what they were talking about.

Breathing out Brad said, "Hamptons West." When they nodded he got up and said, "I'll be right back."

"He's not going to go out?" Castle asked.

"I think he wants to consult with Scarsi," Beckett said.

"Oh, that reminds me, what do you think about him?" Castle said as he turned.

"He reminds me of Fallon," Beckett replied. "Except not as… rough as he was I guess is the word I want to use."

"So far," Castle said. "You don't mind he doesn't really want us here?"

"Do you?" Beckett shot back.

"I'm used to it," Castle replied simply. "But what about you?"

"I'm a little annoyed," Beckett admitted. "But I remember that he doesn't know us or how we work here."

"Then hopefully he will now," Castle commented. When she nodded he studied her and said, "Here, you should sit."

Beckett wanted to tell him that she was fine, but she knew he was right as her back was beginning to ache and once she was in one of the chairs she said with a smile, "You're going to miss this when the baby is born."

"No I won't," Castle said as he pulled the other chair over to hers. "I'll have the baby to coddle next."

"Coddle," Beckett said with a soft laugh as he squeezed her hand gently. She let him go and then looked over at the doorway as Brad walked in with Scarsi.

"We can clear Easter as being the one to place the bomb," the former said first. "There's a camera on that floor at the hotel; I guess it's had past issues; and since there's only one way out of there he didn't move."

"What about that Facebook contact?" Castle asked, looking at Scarsi.

"It's untraceable," the agent replied, looking slightly grim. "They used computers from libraries to set it up and talk with them and a bogus name."

"And can you check security footage?" Beckett asked.

"Rice and Gardiner are," Brad answered. "So we may get something from that."

"We can only hope," Scarsi replied before he excused himself.

"He's going to check something," Brad said. "For now, let me call the marina."

"Why is everyone leaving?" Castle said when his friend had done that.

"I think he's going to use the radio," Beckett replied. "Easier to call," she added with a shrug. She stood back up and walked over to the murder board, studying what they had so far. "You know if this is just one bomb it's going to be difficult."

"We've never been unable to solve a case," Castle told her.

"You're not afraid of jinxing it?" Beckett asked with a smirk.

"Not really," Castle said.

"You're usually more care-" Beckett began to say when she cut herself off at the sound of running. She went with her husband to the doorway, watching Brad stop just in front of them, panting so heavily she thought he wouldn't be able to speak. But he soon did, and everything seemed to freeze at what he told them

"There's been another explosion," Brad began, looking strained. "At our kids' schools."


	8. All Warnings Fall Upon Deaf Ears

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Great to get the feedback for the last chapter so I'll get right to my thank yous for that! MsNYC (I'm really happy reading that you think Eliza and Jim are too freaking cute, I do enjoy writing him with his granddaughters. And I'm not surprised you're glad that Jim gets to see how much Eliza is like Kate. And you're right, it's a beautiful thing when a parent sees their child as a parent. And definitely right that is especially the case when the grandchild carries the same mannerisms as the child, so yeah, definitely got what you were saying there! I wasn't surprised to see your reaction to the end of the chapter, but I am glad I surprised you about it. Not surprised either that you're hoping none of the kids at the school was hurt, you'll see soon of course. And yeah, Brad is definitely itching to catch the bomber since of course they slipped through his fingers back in Albany. Not surprised that you're guessing Castle and Beckett's hearts dropped when they heard about the news since yours did, figured that would happen since that bomb could be anywhere at the school. So happy that you thought it was great writing as usual!),

TORONTOSUN (Really nice to read first off that you like how Jim gets along with the girls, since as I said before I like writing him with them. And I wasn't surprised that you liked how I mentioned Fallon's name from back in the season 3 two-part eppy, but glad that you liked that!),

vetgirlmx (I wasn't surprised at all by your reaction to the end of the chapter, also that you see the major scare that the parents are getting right now. Definitely horrible. And you got what I was doing with the bomber in saying that he's deliberately messing with them and taunting them too. I completely agree, never a good thing! I'm not surprised you're asking who's dead now, since the bomb went off at the schools. Also, not surprised that you're hoping for another scenario, where it's not to kill but just a warning that they're watching and know things about them. But yeah, that's still very bad, both are, though again not surprised you're leaning towards the second scenario. I'm glad that you enjoyed the tour that Eliza got though it was short, and that you thought it was a nice gesture from Brad to let them go around. Really happy that you're intrigued about Lily, but yeah, gotta wait for an answer for that, though I am relieved that for now you don't mind, lol, I get why. Had to laugh at you mentioning the original suspect, but yeah, couldn't be that easy as it's connected to a cold case. And I'm not surprised you're trying to endure waiting for the cliffhanger to be over, though as you said failing miserably. And not surprised at the end of your review you wanting to know so badly if everybody was okay and now you don't need to wait for that!) and

Mb (I'm not surprised you'd been thinking of the protest bombing case they'd had and if it and everything that came up with that would resurface. As I was writing it I knew it had to be mentioned since a lot changed with that one of course. I laughed a bit at you mentioning Castle not following orders and staying back while the others went to the room, especially since Beckett was with them, par for the course for him, lol. And yeah, I know that meth labs are dangerous especially breathing the air in one, so had to have them all getting some masks for that, not just Beckett. Not surprised you're thinking the suspect is low on the list now and more of a distraction after the last chapter, I figure a lot of people would after reading that. I'm also not surprised that you're wondering what happened after the New Year with Lily that she started pulling away from Brad. Interesting to see you think she got some news that led her to need space as you said. Glad you see Brad and Lily as a strong couple and that they can be stronger after Brad knows what's going on with her since as I've said I do love writing that. Great that you love how Jim is with Eliza. And so, so pleased that you see she is like Kate but a lot like Rick too because I do try to write her having both their mannerisms and whatnot. Really great to see your reaction to the end of the chapter, lol, not surprised at that. And you got what I was doing with Castle and Beckett seeing Jim and Eliza at the coffee shop and spending time with them, lol, bit of lulling there. And I'm so happy that you loved Eliza's reaction when they went to the police station. Not surprised that you loved Castle and Beckett understanding there how proud Eliza is of them. And yeah, I partially have her wanting to write with them because she wants to be like them but also because she wants to, it's in her blood, lol. I'm not surprised you like the comparison between Scarsi and Fallon or that you think Scarsi is more dismissive of Castle and Beckett because that's what I was aiming for, lol. And yeah, Easter's trying to save himself so I had him admit that he was a distraction as you put it. I'm not surprised at your wondering who the old friend he was told to meet was, could be any of them. Interesting to see you wondering if the bit with the boat was a mistake or a carefully planned challenge to mock the authorities. And again, not surprised you had the reaction you did, calling that last paragraph as shattering the lull. I'm not surprised that you can feel the anxiety and fear that everyone's thinking since yeah, hearing the word bomb and school and knowing that's where your kids are will do that. No surprise you're wondering with this if the suspect is playing with them, or that you're seeing it's a warning with the bomb being where children are. So great to read you thought it was fantastic and amazing. And glad you had something to read while you have that storm going on! You're very welcome for sharing!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them and as always appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Tears of the World_ by George Harrison, from the rejected track list of his album _Somewhere in England_.

All Warnings Fall Upon Deaf Ears

"Kate," Castle said, trying to hold on to his wife.

"Something's wrong," Beckett said, pushing his hand away. She wanted to run but she couldn't forget the baby, so she lengthened her stride the best she could before she reached the gate. Luckily it was already open, and she rushed inside before she said, "Where are they treating the kids?" to the Dean.

"H-" the man started to say, looking startled.

"How did you know any children were injured?" the school secretary asked.

"I don't think that matters," Castle said, seeing the uncertain expression on his wife's face. "Who was injured and how."

Glancing at Brad and Scarsi; who'd come in just behind the other two; the Dean replied with a sigh, "Miss Cookston's class. I'm sorry," he added when Beckett closed her eyes. "Please, this way," he continued.

Castle held onto his wife by wrapping his arm around her tightly as they were led out into the quad between the three buildings. He was a little startled when they were taken over to the left but as he saw they were approaching the school library he realized why students had been injured as some windows were missing.

"Rick," Beckett whispered as low as she could. " _I couldn't tell anything had happened. Not until now_."

" _She's alright, maybe it was shock_ ," Castle said quickly. " _Or she blocked you_."

Beckett wanted to say she wasn't so sure, but they were going into the doors and she immediately saw their oldest. "Julia," she said, almost running that time as the girl was sitting at a library table as an EMT was cleaning her left arm that had various cuts over it, clad in a white t-shirt instead of her uniform polo shirt and sweater.

"Mommy, Daddy," she said with a smile. When she saw what her mother was doing she became serious said, "Mommy you shouldn't run, what about the baby?"

Unable to help laughing briefly; as she could see cuts on her arms closer; Beckett leaned down and hugged her oldest the best she could, gently kissing her temple. She wanted to speak, to ask what had happened but found she was too choked up with tears finding out that Julia was relatively okay. Luckily her husband soon spoke for her and she kept her hand on the girl's shoulder as he asked what she'd wanted to.

"Can you tell us what happened?" Castle asked gently after he'd embraced her.

"If you ask me like that shouldn't I tell Brad?" Julia replied.

"Just tell us a shorter version of what happened," Castle suggested.

"We were in that room," Julia said. "Since we were being read to, some fairy tales that were from around the world 'cause we're learning world history."

Looking into the room; that she for some reason hadn't taken notice of before; Beckett saw that the floor to ceiling windows were blown out. She looked around at some of the other children being treated and said, "Was the librarian in the room with you?"

"No, she went outside for a second, but the door was open," Julia said. She was going to continue her story but the EMT working on her was finishing bandaging both her arms to her relief.

"She'll be fine, the cuts are all shallow," the woman said, looking at Castle and Beckett. "Just make sure she keeps the cuts clean and dry and they'll go away quickly."

"Can we put ointment on them?" Beckett asked. When the woman nodded she thanked the EMT before she turned to Julia with her husband as their oldest stood. "Sweetie-" she began to say.

"I'm not gonna go inside," the girl said quickly. She went close to the doorway and said, "We were in the room and talking while we waited and then I…"

"What is it?" Castle asked, watching her close her mouth quickly and look away from them.

"You sensed something?" Beckett asked.

Breathing out; slightly in relief at her mother saying it for her; Julia said, "I was talking with Peter, Dawn and Collette and then I felt really cold. Very cold."

"What is it?" Castle said as she looked around.

Shaking her head Julia told them, "And I looked over at the windows and saw a box over there in the parking lot. And then I heard something in my head saying to move away from there."

"Exactly like that?" Beckett said.

"Yeah, he said, 'Move away from the glass,' so I started to move everyone from there, but I wasn't that fast," Julia told them. "We still got hurt."

"Did you see the explosion?" Castle asked.

With another shake of her head Julia replied, "I was turning and telling everyone to run. I heard it though… I got down really fast and covered my head."

"We could tell," Beckett said.

"Yeah and then I was still cold until you got here," Julia explained. "I guess he stayed."

"By he do you mean that man that Eliza's seen?" Castle asked her.

"It is I've seen him before but not that much," Julia explained before she looked ahead at Brad who was walking up to them.

"Hey, how're you doing Julia?" the chief asked as he placed his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm okay," she replied. "Do I need to tell you what happened?" Julia asked. When he nodded she took a deep breath she then told him what she had told her parents, though without pausing or telling him about why she'd looked outside the window as she didn't want to explain that exactly.

"That's what I've heard from some of your other classmates," Brad said. "Did anything make you look outside? Did you see someone there at the box?" He was a little startled when the girl looked at her parents and allowed Castle to lead him away from them.

"He's gonna think I'm weird," Julia said, biting her lower lip.

"He won't," Beckett said, not sure how she knew that.

"Okay," Brad said. He then placed his hand on her shoulder again to squeeze it once reassuringly and told her quietly, "You could have told me."

"I… I'm not lying," Julia whispered.

"I didn't think you were," Brad replied. "Eve's told me what you've sensed before and in this case if there was a spirit I'm glad that they told you."

Julia was surprised but she just nodded before she said, "I didn't see anyone though, it was empty over there."

"You two can stay with her," Brad said. "I'll go with Scarsi to talk to the Dean."

With a nod Beckett watched him go before she felt Julia tugging on her hand. "What is it?" she asked her.

"Can I talk to Peter?" Julia asked.

"Go ahead," Beckett said. She stopped Castle from following and she told him, "We don't need to go with her."

"I thought you'd want to," he replied, going back a little to stand with her. He watched Julia hugging her dance partner quickly and then asked his wife, " _Are you okay_?"

" _Now I'm fine_ ," Beckett said. " _But I'm still bothered about why I didn't sense what had happened_."

" _Ask her when she comes back_ ," Castle said simply.

Beckett nodded before they watched as their daughter hugged the rest of her friends in the class before returning to them. "Are they okay?" she asked her.

"Yeah," Julia replied with a nod. She was going to speak again when she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder and looked up at her questioningly as she could tell she was slightly troubled.

"Sweetie there's something I want to ask you," Beckett said seriously.

"There's something I want to tell you," Julia said hurriedly. "Before I looked when the man told me to I didn't think about you. I thought about the gate at home being closed and then I looked and… Did you know anything happened?"

"No," Beckett said, not surprised when her daughter breathed out in relief. "Don't do that again though."

"I did that for the baby," Julia said in concern. "I didn't want you to get scared and hurt the baby." When her mother just sighed she told her, "I won't do that though Mommy."

Beckett embraced her tightly before she said, "I hope they'll cancel school now."

"What about dance class?" Julia asked.

"That might be cancelled too," Castle replied. "I think we're getting the boot love," as they watched Brad enter with Scarsi.

"No surprise there," Beckett said under her breath as the chief came straight to them. "We know," she said before Brad could speak.

Looking at the two of them the chief then sighed and said, "Scarsi's using the excuse you two are too close now with your daughter being involved."

"No, I'm not," Julia said firmly.

"Don't worry," Brad replied. "You told us what you saw and that will be enough."

"But they should keep working with you," Julia told him.

"I'll see what I can do," Brad reassured her. "But for now, take Julia home. Don't get too comfortable though."

"We won't," Beckett replied.

"Thanks for trying though," Castle said.

"I was just with those two before in Albany," Brad said, not surprised when Castle and Beckett looked over to where another man was walking to Scarsi.

"Coupe?" Beckett asked.

"That's him," Brad replied. "I'll call you when I can."

"Were any of the kids seriously injured?" Beckett said quickly before he walked away.

"No, minor cuts," Brad said. He smiled at Julia and told her, "Looks like you helped, they said you screamed and said to run."

Blushing Julia said, "I had to." She then looked concerned and asked, "You won't say how I knew right?"

"You said that you noticed a bird flying by the window and that made you look outside just before the explosion remember?" Brad said. "Oh, and school is closed for the day, they're getting everyone out, so you can take her home. Take care of those cuts Julia."

"I will, bye," Julia said. She looked at her parents and said, "I wish you could work still."

"You don't need to worry," Beckett said first.

"She's right," Castle continued. "Brad will definitely try to make sure that we come back. For now, we should get you home."

"There's a couple we'd like you to meet," Beckett added as they left together after their oldest had picked up her backpack at the entrance to the library.

Julia was confused by that, but she knew her parents weren't going to tell her what they meant. So she waited impatiently as they got into the car and drove home, not surprised to see her grandfather and sister on the porch once they pulled down the driveway.

"Did you hear?" Beckett asked her father when they were out of the car.

"Of course, Rebecca called," Jim said. "Is she alright?"

"She has some cuts on her arms and they're bandaged," Beckett said, taking the sweater that he was holding. She then hurriedly explained what had happened, including the spirit her daughter had told them about. She had just finished when suddenly Eliza was crying out, making them look over at her with Julia.

"Oh, I have to say thank you to Alfred," Eliza said happily. She looked at the adults and when she saw they were looking at her she breathed out and said, "Do they know?"

"Yeah, I told them but I didn't say his name," Julia replied.

"Have you talked with him a lot?" Castle asked the little girl.

"Sometimes," Eliza said shyly.

"Did he ever say his last name?" Castle then inquired.

"No, I don't ask," Eliza told him. "He's nice so I don't ask."

"Okay," Castle replied. "Julia has the rest of the day off and you don't have a dance class today."

"Did your friends get hurt too?" Eliza asked her, pointing to her arms.

"A little bit…" Julia started to say before looking at their parents. "I told her," she whispered.

"It's alright," Beckett said. "I'm sure she heard when your grandpapa did."

"Aren't you gonna work?" Eliza then asked them.

"We need to take off for a little bit," Castle explained. "Maybe for the rest of the day, we don't know."

"For now, I think we should go inside," Beckett commented.

Gasping in joy Eliza said, "Yeah, come on!"

"Mommy and Daddy said that there was a couple here," Julia said to her sister as they walked over to the porch. "Did Skye and Mary come?"

"No," Eliza told her firmly. When she saw her sister was looking at her closely she giggled and said, "You can see."

Julia frowned a little before their parents opened the front door and after she and her sister stepped inside she was about to greet the dogs when she suddenly saw there were more than normal. "We got more dogs!" she exclaimed before all six of them were rushing to her. She giggled and said, "We did, right?"

"We did, our Irish Setter here," Castle told her.

"And the other is an Andalusian Hound," Beckett explained.

"They're so cute… they're the baby's dogs, right?" Julia asked hopefully as she let the two sniff at her hands before she hugged them both.

"I think so," Castle said. "But for now, they need to stay with you."

Julia hugged the other dogs to greet them and she was about to tell her parents she didn't have too much homework when her little sister was tugging at the end of her shirt speaking excitedly.

"Jules, Jules the doggies don't have names," Eliza said.

"They have names," Beckett said quickly when Julia looked at them in surprise. "Walter and Alice."

"Oh… but I can give them different names?" the girl asked.

"Go ahead, we've all been waiting for you to," Castle commented.

Smiling; as she couldn't help doing so; Julia looked at the two dogs for a moment and said, "Okay, I know."

"Tell us!" Eliza couldn't help exclaiming.

Julia laughed softly, as she couldn't help teasing her sister a little, but finally said, "I wanna name him Maxwell," pointing to the Irish Setter.

" _Maxwell's Silver Hammer_?" Castle asked. When the girl nodded he then said, "We can call him Max right? A little bit easier to say."

"You're Max," Eliza told the Setter firmly. When he licked her chin, she giggled heavily and hugged him around the neck before she said, "What about the girl?"

"Molly," Julia said. "From _Ob-la-di Ob-la-da_."

"Good choice," Castle said with a smile.

"He's right, I think they fit very well," Jim said.

"I like them," Beckett said, not surprised when both girls looked at her. "For now though come with me sweetie." She led the girl over to hers and Castle's office and she had her take off her t-shirt before she was pulling on the blue sweater she'd carried into the house. "Warm?" she asked her with a smile.

"Yep, now what?" Julia asked.

Beckett took her hand so they could leave, and she asked her, "Do you have any homework?" while they were walking to the kitchen where the others were.

"A little bit, not a lot," she replied. "I have to do it now?"

"You should," Castle commented. "That way you have more time to play or… whatever you'd like to do."

"Okay," Julia said as she realized her father was right. She went over to her backpack that was on the bench and took out what she needed.

"Oh, Grandpapa my picture!" Eliza exclaimed.

"Did you make something?" Castle asked her.

"Yeah, for you and Mommy," Eliza replied before she and Jim went over to the family room where their pictures were still on the easel.

"What do you have?" Beckett asked as she and Castle followed Julia over to the kitchen.

"Oh, Mommy I don't have my lunch box," Julia said.

"It should still be in your classroom," Castle told her quickly. "Don't worry about it. You can get it tomorrow."

"Then can I get lunch at school tomorrow?" Julia asked.

"I think so," Castle replied. "Just remind us before you go to school."

"Sorry Mommy, I have some math and then a worksheet for science," Julia told her. "I can do it really fast."

"You don't have to do it really fast," Beckett said with a smile, watching her getting her papers out.

"You're gonna go back," Julia said simply. When her mother; sitting at the chair next to her; looked at her in surprise she smiled and said, "I know Brad wants you to go back. I wanna go fast so I can play with you until then."

"Okay," Beckett said. She smiled when her husband leaned over and kissed her neck, squeezing his hand tightly before she watched him go over to the kitchen. Turning back to Julia she was going to speak before she paused, her hand going down quickly to her abdomen as her daughter glanced at her at her movement.

"Is the baby kicking?" Julia asked.

"She is," Beckett said, looking past her at her father and Eliza. She looked back at her oldest when she felt her hand on her stomach and said, "Very hard too."

"She is getting bigger," Castle said, watching with a smile as Eliza hurried over to join her sister.

"Very," Beckett said, shaking her head.

"This was about the time that Eliza was kicking harder," Castle said quickly as he'd noticed his father in law appeared concerned.

"He's right," Beckett said, wrapping her arms around the girls when the baby stopped kicking. She kissed them on the temple and then said, "You better get to your homework sweetie," to Julia.

"I will," the girl replied, turning her attention back to her worksheet. "Could we go on a walk?" Julia then asked.

"I have a better idea," Castle said. "Maybe we could do it now love."

"Let's wait for evening," Beckett replied.

"Do what?" Julia said, trying to still work though she was interested in what idea they had.

"We need to get them a few things at the pet store," Beckett explained. When Julia's eyes lit up she said, "I think your daddy wants to take them all to the store."

"How? They're big dogs and only three of you are adults," Julia pointed out.

"She's a smart girl," Castle told his wife.

"I can stay with the others if you'd like me to," Jim replied.

"That's not fair Grandpapa," Eliza told him.

"No, it's fine," Jim said. "I don't need to go, and I really would like to stay in."

"Are you alright?" Beckett asked gently.

"I am, to be honest I'm not looking forward to going out into the cold and dark," Jim answered. "Should you?"

"You've learned too much watching Rick coddle me," Beckett said wryly though she was smiling as well.

"I don't think so," Jim replied. When his daughter looked at him questioningly he said, "I was the same way when your mother was pregnant with you."

"Oh…" Beckett began. "I guess it's inherent."

"What does that mean?" Eliza asked.

"That people do that a lot," Castle replied. "Should I get them a snack love?"

"Yes, but something small and vegetables," Beckett told him.

Castle laughed and said, "Your suggestion is noted," before he went over to the kitchen.

"Mommy?" Eliza asked. "Can I show you my picture now?"

"Go ahead," Beckett said. "I'm sorry we got so busy talking; I forgot about the pictures."

"That's kay," Eliza replied. "I wanted to talk about everything too."

Beckett laughed briefly and then kissed the side of her youngest's head before she then said, "Tell me about your beautiful picture sweetie," as Eliza let her hold it in front of them both so she could do that more easily.

"Those are all the doggies," the little girl pointed out first. "And they are outside where there is no snow and no boots."

"As soon as spring comes they can go outside without them," Castle said in amusement.

"He's right, we need to wait for spring," Beckett said as Eliza gave an audible sigh.

"That's okay," Julia said. When her sister looked at her with wide eyes she said, "That's when the baby's gonna be born."

"You can want both to happen," Castle said as Eliza obviously looked torn.

"He's right, and just because the baby is going to be here doesn't mean the dogs can't," Beckett pointed out as well.

"Kay," Eliza said before she smiled and said, "I can't wait."

"Neither can we," Castle said, setting down a plate on the table with some vegetables and ranch.

"Want to sit on my lap sweetie?" Beckett asked her as she watched the little girl dip a cherry tomato.

"No thank you Mommy," Eliza replied as Jim set his picture with hers on the other side of the table. "See Grandpapa's?"

"It looks great," Beckett told her father with a smile. "So you definitely had fun."

"Yeah, I played duck, duck, goose with the doggies but they don't know how to," Eliza told her sister and their parents.

"You have to play with humans," Julia told her. "Dogs don't know, and they just want to play fetch."

"Or tug of war," Castle commented, taking a slice of cucumber from the plate. "You should play that tomorrow at school with your sister and Mari."

"Are we gonna go?" Julia asked.

"Yes, there will be school tomorrow," Beckett said firmly.

"Did you talk to the police," Eliza asked her sister.

"I did," Julia replied, finishing the last thing she needed on her science worksheet. She then smiled at her sister and said, "I just said what happened."

Seeing that Eliza was looking down at Julia's arms Jim said, "Are you having any problems writing?"

"No," Julia said, looking down at them herself. "They look kinda cool though."

"I wouldn't think that sweetie," Beckett told her seriously. "Better you didn't have to wear them."

Julia looked at her mother, as her tone of voice had changed slightly, and then glanced at her father. She saw the concern on his face and was going to ask what was wrong when her grandfather said he was taking Eliza over to the family room to wait for them. "Mommy-" she began to say when the two were gone.

"You should tell her love," Castle told his wife.

Sighing Beckett said, "You know that I was shot once, a long time ago."

"Yeah," Julia said, wondering what she would tell her after that.

"We had a case a bit after that where there was someone shooting people like I had been," Beckett said, squeezing her husband's hand on her shoulder. "And I was very afraid but trying not to be." She took a deep breath as she wasn't quite sure how she wanted to word what she needed to say next and said, "I panicked at my apartment one night during the case and while I was trying to protect myself I broke some glass and I cut my arm."

"She had to wear gauze just like that," Castle added. "Which I noticed."

"You never said anything," Beckett said, a little startled.

"What could I really say? You were a little emotionally on edge and if I pointed out I'd seen part of that…" Castle said. "We weren't that secure."

Watching them Julia said, "You didn't let Daddy help you?"

"I wasn't ready yet," Beckett said. "I was still afraid."

"Well… you're not now," Julia pointed out.

"No, but I'm not proud of how I was for part of that case," Beckett said, standing up since the girl had finished packing her backpack.

"But you're better now," Julia repeated.

"I know," Beckett said. "Put away your backpack and we'll go to the family room."

"I want to play with the dogs," Julia said quickly.

"We can," Castle replied. "Go so we have time; just in case Brad calls us back."

When Julia had left them Beckett turned to her husband, knowing he wanted to speak to her then. She was hoping to start before he could when he beat her to it and she just hoped; while she braced herself; it wasn't going to be too much of a reminder as retelling the story again to their oldest had been as she listened to him.

"She's doing alright," Castle commented. He wasn't surprised when his wife nodded slowly and said, "There's not really much I can say about that."

Sighing Beckett said, "It wasn't exactly easy but thankfully Javier helped me." She studied her husband and said, "Thank you for talking to him." She smiled when her husband looked at her in surprise and she explained, "He told me, eventually, that you talked to him about helping me."

"It was the only thing I could think of, considering what he'd been through himself," Castle replied. He then put his hand on her back and pulled her against him saying, "Just don't think you need to go through something like that alone all the time."

Beckett didn't answer at first, instead she leaned over and kissed him gently on the lips before she said, "I think I know by now." She studied him and said, "Neither do you."

Castle frowned before he turned with her down the hall to watch as their youngest ran down to them. "Are we taking too long?" he asked in slight amusement.

"Yeah, come and play with the doggies," Eliza said, taking their hands.

Sharing a smile Castle and Beckett allowed her to pull them to the family room, going over to sit on the couch so they could watch as Julia was playing tug of war with Max, the other dogs chewing on their own stuffed toys at the same time.

"Mommy?" Julia asked.

"Yes sweetie?" Beckett said.

Julia took a moment to speak before she then said, "When will we have another lesson?"

"I can't really participate," Beckett said with a smile. "But we can see if Brad's available for you at all. What made you think of that?"

"I don't know," Julia replied, shaking her head after looking thoughtful for a moment. "I guess I just wanted to do it again."

"We'll ask him next time we see him," Castle interjected.

"I think we should ask him after the case," Beckett said. When Julia nodded and turned her attention back to Max she gently rubbed at her stomach. Her mind was wandering as she recalled when she and her husband had taken their daughter to the gym at the police station to begin learning self-defense at the beginning of September the year before.


	9. All Warnings Fall Upon Deaf Ears (Pt 2)

_"Okay," Brad said with a smile as Julia stopped in front of him. "How much do you think I'm going to teach you?"_

 _"Um… I wanted to learn as much as my mommy did, but you can't?" the girl asked._

 _"That's a little too much for you," Brad replied. "But I don't blame you for wanting to learn. Also, great you want to learn, it'll help."_

 _"I'll let you take care of this," Beckett said when the chief looked at her._

 _"Okay so first you need to learn what to do when someone grabs you from behind," Brad said._

 _"I won't hurt you, will I?" Julia asked immediately, sounding concerned._

 _"No," Brad said reassuringly. "Come here, I'm going to grab you but just to show you okay?" When she nodded he then went to her and had her turn around before he said, "They might grab you like this," putting his arm around her neck before he grabbed her left arm, keeping his grip careful as he didn't want to trigger what she recalled of Queens. "Tell me this second how you feel like getting me to let go of you," he said._

 _"My other elbow?" Julia asked._

 _"Good, start moving it back but don't hit me," Brad said. Feeling her do so he said, "Nice. Now try hitting lower." When she repeated the same he nodded and told her, "Very good. I want you to try and hit me now."_

 _"But-" Julia started to say._

 _"It's alright," Castle called to her; both he and Beckett watching the lesson. "Just don't do it too hard."_

 _"He's right," Beckett told him. "Just enough."_

 _"Go ahead," Brad told her. He felt her hit and he wasn't surprised when she was careful. "Nice," he said, not having her do it again as he knew that she wouldn't want to. "Now I have an idea of what you can do let's teach you another thing you can do."_

 _Julia was startled when the chief had her learn to kick and knee someone in between their legs and she said, "Isn't it bad doing that?"_

 _"Not to protect yourself," Beckett said. "And you can also grab there too if you only have your hands to work with."_

 _"I don't have to do that to you, do I?" Julia asked worriedly._

 _"No way," Brad replied. "I want you to practice kicking and kneeing this," he told her as he led the way over to one of the punching bags._

 _"Cool," Julia said, waiting for him to go around to hold it before her mother taught her the best way to kick and then knee it._

 _"You're a natural sweetie," Beckett told her with a smile._

 _"Thanks," Julia replied as they stopped. "Do I need to work out now?"_

 _"No," Brad said slightly laughingly. "You can do what you just did without it."_

 _"You just did it didn't you?" Castle added. When his wife and daughter looked at him he shrugged and said, "You're doing a great job."_

 _"Thanks Daddy," Julia said with a soft laugh. "Is there more?"_

 _"Also stomping on feet helps," the chief said. "And if you can use your fingers to poke into eyes. Just try to keep your head the best you can and think of what you learned today."_

 _"Is that all I'll know?" Julia asked._

 _Seeing that her oldest looked hopeful Beckett said, "Do you want to keep going?"_

 _"Like you," Julia whispered as she was nodding her head at the same time._

 _"Okay," Brad said. "You can help her with that right?"_

 _"But she should have refresher courses," Castle commented._

 _"Just call me ahead of time," Brad told them. "I'll be in the station."_

 _"We're taking her to lunch," Beckett replied._

 _Sighing after they'd said goodbye to the chief Julia said, "I wish I could go in."_

 _"You could," Castle said, looking at his wife._

 _Shaking her head Beckett told him, "It's a Sunday."_

 _"So?" Julia asked as Castle suddenly had a look of realization on his face._

 _"There are people who were partying too much last night, the police need to bring them here," Castle told her honestly. "We don't want you to see that."_

 _"I don't wanna either," Julia replied though she wasn't sure why exactly. "We get to go to lunch?"_

 _"Your choice," Beckett replied._

 _"What about Lizzy and Gram?" Julia asked._

 _"They're having some time on their own," Beckett said._

 _"Okay," Julia said with a nod as they'd done the same the day before for lunch. She became thoughtful and asked, "What about tapas?"_

 _"Something else," Castle replied. "It's a little too much for lunch."_

 _"Um… Irish?" Julia suggested._

 _"I was thinking that myself," Castle told his wife._

 _"Yes, we can go," Beckett said. "Come on before we lose all our time for that," she said, taking Julia's hand. They went into the women's changing room there and she helped her daughter out of her dance practice clothes and into her street clothing. Once she was ready she changed herself before she said, "Want to go anywhere after?"_

 _"Home," Julia replied. She smiled and said, "I want to get to play."_

 _"You know," Castle said as they were meeting outside at that moment. "We have some leaves to rake."_

 _Shaking her head Julia said, "I want to do that with Lizzy too. Let's play with the bows and arrows."_

 _"Okay," Beckett said. "For now, let's go." She took Julia's hand and they walked together over to the car to make their way to the restaurant on the edge of downtown._

 _"Are you sure you don't want to go anywhere?" Castle asked Julia while they were walking together over to the restaurant._

 _"Don't tease her love," Beckett said with a smile._

 _"Do you?" Julia asked interestedly._

 _"To be honest not really," Castle replied._

 _"Then we can just go home," Beckett said. She looked at Julia and smiled as she giggled slightly when Castle pretended to make a face. "Stop that Rick," she told him tonelessly._

 _"Alright," Castle said with a nod. He felt Julia squeeze his hand tightly and he then said, "Hopefully lunch will be good."_

 _"We were here before Daddy and it is," the girl told her father._

 _"Probably why you picked it," Castle commented._

 _"Are you drunk?" Beckett asked her husband in amusement._

 _"It sounds like I am right?" Castle said._

 _Beckett shook her head as they had reached the front of the restaurant, but she couldn't say anything to him since she needed to give the number of their party. Luckily they were able to get a table quickly and while they were looking at the menus she told her husband, "Are you going to get anything to drink?"_

 _"Not today," Castle said, watching her and wondering why she mentioned that since they were still trying to get pregnant. "Why?"_

 _"Can I?" Julia asked. She laughed softly when her parents looked at her in surprise and she told them, "Just seeing if you were listening."_

 _"Good one," Castle said. "You know if we're going to be playing with bows and arrows we might want to keep our heads clear."_

 _"I know," Julia said. "I don't want that stuff it smells…"_

 _"Bad?" Castle supplied. He wasn't surprised when she nodded quickly, as they needed to order, and he squeezed her shoulder before they spoke to the waiter._

 _When they were left alone again Beckett turned the subject away from drinks, urging Julia to tell them more about her class and her teacher. She was relieved when that subject took a while to get through and they were finishing their meal by the time Julia had stopped._

 _"Sorry," the girl said as they stood. "I didn't think I was gonna talk about Miss Cookston for that long."_

 _"She sounds like she's a nice teacher," Castle assured her while they walked out of the restaurant. "And that's good of course since we want you to like going to school."_

 _"I know," Julia said with a soft laugh. She got into the back of their car and watched while they were going through town before she said, "Are you excited about your tour?"_

 _"Slightly," Beckett said. When she looked back at her daughter and seeing her confusion she laughed softly and told her, "We will miss you guys."_

 _"Yeah but you get to go on vacation by yourselves," Julia said quickly. "Like a honeymoon again."_

 _Looking at his wife as he paused at a stop sign Castle said, "She has a point."_

 _Beckett rolled her eyes though she was smiling and then said, "I think we were both thinking that." She looked out the windshield and said, "But for now we can concentrate on our game," as they were approaching home and soon pulling in and down the driveway._

 _"Are we gonna keep score?" Julia asked her mother once they were in the house and had greeted the dogs._

 _"I don't think we should," Beckett replied with a smile. "It makes it a little less fun."_

 _"Yeah," Julia said as she nodded, trying to be as grown up as she could. When they were in the backyard she watched her parents getting the target ready and said, "Do I get to use your bows?"_

 _"Just one of ours," Beckett told her. When she saw Julia was watching her she smiled and said, "You can choose."_

 _"Can I try and see?" the girl asked._

 _"Go ahead," Castle said after he came back to them._

 _"Me first?" Julia said, looking surprised._

 _"Go ahead," Beckett replied, handing her bow over to her._

 _Julia took one of the arrows that her mother handed her and notched it before she held it up, aiming. She allowed Beckett to help her in her hold before she finally let go of the arrow, wincing when it just barely got onto the target. "I guess I have to practice," she told them._

 _"You can keep doing that," Beckett told her._

 _"Go ahead, you know we shoot all of them at once," Castle said._

 _Julia nodded and proceeded to shoot the rest of her arrows before she was finished. "So I went up a little bit," she said with a smile._

 _"You had a good start," Castle said before he went with them to the target so he and Beckett could get the arrows out._

 _"Mommy can I have an apple?" Julia asked when they'd walked back to where the arrows and bows were._

 _"Sure," Beckett replied. "Can you wash it too?"_

 _"You should get three of them," Castle said._

 _"Okay," Julia replied. "And I'll cut them after I wash them." She smiled widely at her parents when they looked at her and told them, "Just kidding," before she ran up to the house with the dogs following her._

 _"She's learning from you, a lot," Beckett told her husband teasingly._

 _"You don't sound too annoyed," Castle replied._

 _"Maybe because I'm more used to you now," Beckett pointed out._

 _"Maybe," Castle echoed. When she rolled her eyes, he smiled at her and then leaned down, kissing her gently on the lips. He was going to pull away when she wrapped her arm around him to keep him close to her so they could kiss again._

 _Beckett parted her lips to her husband's sweeping tongue before they were soon after fighting with each other playfully. She didn't know how long it took for them to become breathless but once they had she said, "You couldn't help yourself could you."_

 _"You could have stopped me and yet you started us up again," Castle told her with a smile._

 _"And I don't regret it," Beckett said before she leaned into him so they could kiss again._

 _Julia, holding the apples she'd grabbed and washed for them, stopped at the door to the backyard as she was able to quickly see her parents were kissing. She smiled a little and looked away for a moment until she chanced another look. Sighing when she saw they were kissing again she was about to sit on the bench before they were parting, and her mother was getting an arrow. Breathing out she hurried to the backyard and then down to them as her mother shot her arrow to the target as she reached them._

 _"Oh good, I was getting hungry," Castle said teasingly to her after he'd taken the apple she handed to him._

 _"After everything we ate?" Julia asked._

 _"Just kidding," Castle told her quickly. "But thank you for this."_

 _"Welcome," Julia said as she smiled. She then looked at her mother and asked, "How're you gonna eat?"_

 _"I need to wait," Beckett said simply as she set her bow down. She took a bite of her apple when her husband was suddenly taking her by her arm._

 _"We don't need to stand around while we eat these," Castle told her with a smile._

 _"I guess not but aren't you forgetting Julia?" Beckett asked him before they were sitting in the Adirondack chairs._

 _"I can stand," the girl said quickly, leaning slightly against her mother. She bit her apple before she licked some of the juice off her wrist and asked, "Can we go pick them?"_

 _"We could," Castle said. "Around this time of year we can find an orchard and do that."_

 _"Did you?" Julia asked him._

 _"I think so," Castle replied. He wasn't surprised when the two looked at him questioningly and then said, "My mother has pictures so there is proof, but I can't remember, I was three at least."_

 _"Oh," Julia said. She frowned and then said, "We never went Mommy?"_

 _Castle looked quickly at his wife, wondering how she would react to that question, but he soon got his answer when she smiled and then simply shook her head._

 _"I'm afraid fall is a busy time," Beckett commented. "With the holidays coming up."_

 _"I know Christmas is coming," Julia replied, feeding some of her apple to Macca._

 _"I'm thinking more of Halloween," Beckett said, shaking her head though she was smiling. "And Thanksgiving."_

 _"And then Christmas?" Castle asked._

 _"And then Christmas," Beckett echoed. "We can't seem to get away from it," she said wryly as she fed some apple to Rita._

 _"Why do you want to?" Julia asked, watching her mother stand up._

 _"I don't, I'm teasing you now," Beckett replied as Castle took their apple cores to throw into the compost heap they had._

 _"And now you can shoot your arrows!" Julia said eagerly._

 _"Alright," Beckett said, taking her hand and leading her over to the target. "Think you'll try your daddy's bow?"_

 _"Nah, I like yours better," Julia said. She then looked at her father's and said with a frown, "Aren't they the same?"_

 _"I think so," Beckett said slightly laughingly._

 _Julia shook her head before she then watched her mother firing off the arrows, smiling as she did very well. As soon as she was finished she began to applaud her and said, "You should go to the Olympics Mommy."_

 _"Oh, I don't think so," Beckett replied. "You probably don't remember them three years ago but next year we'll watch, and you'll see how much better they are than I am."_

 _"For starters the bow is way different," Castle said, having waited for his wife to finish before he came over to them. "And they are serious." He looked at the target and then added, "Also much further away."_

 _"And they've been training for far longer," Beckett said. "Since we've never trained once."_

 _"This is," Julia said._

 _"True," Castle told her._

 _"I'm not going to the Olympics," Beckett said, trying to convey she was annoyed though she was having a hard time not smiling at the looks on their faces._

 _"At least not with a bow," Castle told her._

 _"Or with a horse," Beckett said on a sigh._

 _"I was close," Castle told Julia._

 _"I know," the girl replied laughingly. Julia followed them down to the target, watching them remove the arrows before she said, "Can we go down the beach after you go Daddy?"_

 _"Sure," Castle replied._

 _"We can," Beckett said as they had turned to her then. "You got bored quickly," she told Julia as they walked back so he could go next._

 _"I just want to walk," the girl replied with a shrug. "With the dogs?"_

 _"If you get their leashes and harnesses right now," Beckett told her. She watched with her husband as Julia took off and she said, "Are you going to bother to take your turn?"_

 _Shaking himself Castle grabbed one of his arrows before he notched it and aimed. He didn't really care how the shots went and looking at the target he said, "Huh, I thought that would be a lot worse."_

 _"It looked like it would be," Beckett said in amusement as she'd been watching him. "Ready?" she asked Julia who was walking up to them._

 _"Can I put their leashes on?" the girl asked hopefully._

 _"You can," Beckett said with a smile. "We'll get the arrows." Down at the target she told her husband, "You better take this back."_

 _"Alright, I don't really want to delay our walk though," Castle said. He then paused as he realized why she'd said that and he told her, "Good idea."_

 _Beckett smiled again and squeezed his arm before they walked back, her going further to their oldest. "Are they ready?" she asked._

 _"Yep, who do you want to take?" Julia said._

 _"Rita," Beckett said, taking the leash._

 _"What about Daddy?" Julia asked, looking back at him._

 _"He'll catch up," Beckett replied, taking her hand. She gently squeezed it and said, "What did you think of earlier?"_

 _"I like knowing," Julia said. "But I hope I don't have to do that for real."_

 _"Me too, but it's safer with you knowing," Beckett said._

 _"Can you do all of that?" Julia asked her._

 _"I can, you learn in the Academy," Beckett answered._

 _"Did you practice on Patrick?" Julia said._

 _"I did but it was only for practice," Beckett replied. "And we ended up having fun and talking a lot during those practices."_

 _"I don't have to learn to flip someone do I?" Julia asked her._

 _"Not until you're older and only if you want to," Beckett said. She paused then as Julia had, the dogs ahead of them turning around. "I think he's here," she said slightly laughingly before she turned to see Castle was trying to hurry to them. "If you fall it serves you right," she called out to him teasingly._

 _"Great to see that compassion you have for your husband," Castle said, shaking his head. He then kissed her on the lips briefly before he said, "Want me to take Macca?" to their oldest._

 _"That's okay," Julia said, letting go of her mother's hand. She smiled at her and went ahead of her parents, looking back to see her mother's arm looped through Castle's, calling to Macca and Rita ahead of them before she began to skip carefully in the sand._

 _"She's having fun," Castle said as they watched her._

 _"I didn't think she wouldn't; it was her idea," Beckett said with a smile. She squeezed the upper part of her husband's arm that she was holding onto and then told him, "When we get back we'll let her pick again."_

 _"Agreed," Castle said with a nod._

 _Beckett smiled and took his kiss he gave her before they continued behind their oldest, watching her as she continued to skip and spoke to their dogs._

* * *

"I'm really surprised they don't slide all the way into the island," Castle commented as they watched Rosie scrabble after her stuffed toy Julia had just thrown.

"I'm surprised you don't mind they're doing that to the floor," Beckett said wryly.

"I think I know what our floor can handle," Castle said before he paused. " _Why did that sound dirty_?"

"You have a warped mind," Beckett told him. She squeezed his arm and was about to tell the girls they should do something else; since they'd been throwing the toys to all six dogs for a while; when she heard the chime for the gate. She wasn't surprised when Max and Molly barked but only a few times before they stopped. "Did you order something?" she asked her husband as they made their way to the entry with the others.

"No," Castle said. "Though I'm wishing I had now."

"Later," Beckett told him simply. Since she was the first to the intercom she pressed the button and then said, "Hello?"

"Guys it's me," Brad said on the other end. "With Scarsi and Coupe."

At that Beckett pressed the button for the gate and she stepped out with her husband onto the porch as Brad pulled up. "Squad car," she murmured to him.

"I think we're going back," Castle said.

"Hopefully not for that long," Beckett said as the three men got out of the car.

"I'm hoping too," Castle added.

"I think you two know why we're here," Brad said as he stopped and stopped the two men behind him before they could go onto the porch.

"Mind if we step into the entry?" Castle asked, not liking his wife out in the cold; also feeling chilled himself.

"Sure," Brad said.

"Come on girls," Jim said quickly when he heard that.

Julia wanted to protest but she followed her grandfather, sister and the dogs down the hall until they were at the family room. She let them go inside before she rushed to the living room where she could hear the others talk in the foyer.

"We've come to a standstill with the case," Brad said.

"And we're willing to allow you to join us again," Scarsi added.

"But you'll be restricted," Coupe said, glancing at Beckett. "And if you take one step out of line-"

"We went through this already, multiple times in fact," Beckett interrupted him in irritation. "It's not the first time we've worked with law enforcement and I will remind you I was a detective."

"Fine, we'll see you back at the station," Scarsi said, looking annoyed.

"I'm sorry," Brad told them. "We'll talk back there okay?"

Making a motion with his hand Castle watched the three leave and said, "Well that was fast, I'm wondering why they bothered to come."

"To intimidate us, I'm imagining they don't want to admit they might need our help," Beckett said. She then turned and said, "I'm guessing you heard all of that," as Julia came into the room.

"Yeah, I thought you were going to go back," the girl said with a smile.

"You don't mind?" Castle asked.

"No, go but you have to just come back," Julia told them.

"Let's say goodbye to you and your sister first," Beckett said, taking her hand and leading the way to the family room. When they went in she saw Eliza was standing near the door, about to speak before the little girl smiled.

"I know you have to go," Eliza told her. "But that's kay."

"You're sure?" Castle asked her.

"Yep, go and then come home so we can play," Eliza said as she hurried to them and wrapped her arms around her mother.

Hearing her daughter giggle Beckett asked, "You felt that?"

"Yeah," Eliza said as the baby had kicked against her cheek. "Take care of the baby."

"I will," Beckett assured her. "And we'll bring something for dinner."

"Good," Eliza said before she shared a quick kiss with her mother. She went to her father and said, "Stay at the station."

"We'll try," Castle said slightly laughingly. He picked her up and shared a kiss with her before he then set her back down as Julia was hugging Beckett.

"What Lizzy said," the girl told her mother.

"I know," Beckett replied. Kissing Julia she then embraced her tightly before letting her go over to Castle.

"We will be back," he told their oldest. "I'm counting on a nice long game of Life later after dinner."

"With Lizzy too?" Julia asked.

"Of course," Castle said. He hugged her a little more tightly and then shared a kiss with her before letting her go. He and his wife said goodbye to them before they went over to the entry to grab their outer layers, waving as the three had come into the room to watch them. Going into the garage he said, "Think he'll complain we took too long?"

"I doubt it," Beckett said, letting him take the keys from her.

"Is she still kicking?" Castle asked when they were in the car.

"Not still, she started up again," Beckett replied. She sighed and said, "There was a part of me hoping we wouldn't go in until tomorrow."

"Really? I thought you might have wanted to stay in," Castle said. "Through the rest of the case."

"Neither did you," Beckett said in reply.

"True," Castle said. "We're leaving at a set time, aren't we?" he asked after he drove a little further and was near the station.

"Of course," Beckett said simply. "We can tell Scarsi and Coupe if we need to."

"They sound like a seventies duo," Castle commented.

"That's because you're making it sound like that in your head," Beckett replied while he parked in the back of the station. She got out when the car was off, and she told him, "But try not to antagonize them."

"I'll try but I can't make any promises," Castle told her as he waited for her to come around to his side of the car.

"Which is why I said try," Beckett said easily before they made their way over to the building. As soon as they were inside they greeted the officers as they passed and then went straight into Brad's office, finding the chief on his own. She watched her husband close the door behind them and she went straight to one of the two chairs, sitting immediately. She waited for Castle to sit next to her to hear what they had found while they'd been gone, luckily Brad doing so swiftly.

"Don't look so hopeful," he told them. "You're back here because we need your help, not because we solved the case."

"You got more after we left," Beckett said simply.

"We did, not much, but we did," Brad said with a nod. "Okay so we were able to look at the security footage at the post office where the box is."

"Nothing," Castle commented.

"Of course not," Brad said as he nodded again. "And then we looked at the footage from the school's parking lot… how's Julia doing?"

"She's fine," Castle said first. "Anything from that?"

"A figure," Brad said as he handed over some pictures.

"Just barely," Beckett said as she saw what he was talking about in the upper left corner. "They knew what they were doing," she said.

"It looks like it," Brad replied. "They're definitely local."

"And are we in agreement?" Castle said then.

"About?" Brad said slowly.

"That this is connected to your Albany case," Beckett said.

"You think so?" Brad asked her in obvious surprise.

"It appears to be," Beckett said cautiously. "He's all for that theory but honestly I'm not fully sure."

Brad nodded saying, "I'm going to hold out agreeing fully bit it's looking that way." When she nodded in agreement he turned to the murder board behind them to see what he should mention next, finding it in one of the pictures from the bombing at the school.

"The… box?" Castle asked him slowly.

"Yes, the box, we found one thing though it hasn't really gone anywhere," Brad replied, handing them another picture.

"You got part of the address label on it?" Beckett said in surprise when she saw it on a piece of cardboard.

"We were lucky," Brad said.

"I'd say insanely lucky," Castle said. "But Commission Lane? That's a long street."

"But we were able to see where this box came from," Brad pointed out to them.

"Amazon," Beckett said. When the chief nodded she then told him, "Let me guess, you managed to get the house, but the box was stolen."

"No, we tracked everyone on Commission and there were numerous packages delivered within the last month," Brad said. "And I know what you're going to ask and yes there were a few boxes the same dimension as the one at the school. Also, we checked everyone with a box big enough and we didn't find anything, they're all clear."

"Anything else?" Castle asked. "Please tell me you could recreate the bomb this time."

"We could," Brad said absently before he took what Rice was bringing in to him. "We did," he amended as he handed what was inside the file to him.

"The FBI?" Castle said as he and Beckett looked at the diagram.

"They're a little uneasy but I should tell them this guy won't stick with copying the Unabomber," Brad said with a sigh as he sat down. "That's nearly the exact same as what I saw in Albany. Excuse me," he said as he got back up and then went out into the bullpen.

"Well should we get started?" Castle asked his wife as they both stood up.

"Of course," Beckett said. She went to the murder board with him and they began to look over what there was on the board. "We start with the landmine," she said.

"That one bothers me," Castle said. "We're sure that Bledsoe was the target?"

"I appreciate you trying to take the other side, but I thought you're pushing the fact that these bombings connect to Albany," Beckett told him.

"What if he'd gotten someone else?" Castle asked.

"That had run through my mind too," Beckett replied with a nod. "And I guess he knew Bledsoe's habit of walking his new dogs."

"The skiff," Castle and Beckett said after looking at each other.

"Hold on," Brad said as he walked inside in time to hear them saying that. "I knew I forgot something. But we called the Marina and they need to know which skiff because three have been taken at the same time."

"And they never called the police?" Beckett said incredulously.

"Of course, but because it's Eastport it got into their substation," Brad explained. "And they had three teens in custody, so the matter was settled. And yes, I had heard the case but since we only saw one in the footage I never connected them."

"Teens?" Castle asked.

"I advised them they might not be the perpetrators but Scarsi and Coupe want to talk to them still," Brad replied.

"They might be a diversion," Beckett said.

"I thought that too, but these guys are wondering if maybe we're dealing with a son learning from the father," Brad said.

"It's possible," Castle commented. "But I'm doubting that three teens…"

"They're all eighteen," Brad answered.

"Yeah, it's doubtful they could do what the bomber is doing," Castle said. "Unless of course they're patsies."

"That's my thought," Brad said. "They want to talk to them though. They're a little… unsure about you interviewing suspects."

"Even Scarsi," Beckett stated.

"Yeah," Brad replied. "But here's another thing; they confessed."

"About stealing… the bomber jumped onto the one in the video," Castle started to say before he and his wife finished together. "Someone proficient in scuba diving," he told his friend.

"I suggested it and we're looking around but that's going to be a little widespread," Brad said as he glanced out to the bull pen. "They're here, I'll be back as soon as we're done," he told them before he quickly left since the agents were looking for him.

"It would be smart to do," Beckett said as she turned to the chief's desk.

"Could you call the Coast Guard?" Castle asked as he watched her, knowing she was thinking of doing that.

"What if it was a relay?" Beckett suggested.

Nodding Castle said, "That would be smarter."

"But Brad would still want to check," Beckett replied. "And so you know I wouldn't be able to call. Oh, I could dial of course but you know from experience that's as far as I can get if I tried to introduce myself."

Castle nodded and then asked, "You don't want to go to observation?"

"I'll bet you anything that one of the agents is in there," Beckett replied. "If you want to try it go ahead."

"I'll pass," Castle replied, walking over to the desk.

Beckett, watching him, said, "What're you doing?"

"Looking for the information on the teens," Castle said. "I have an idea."

"They have records?" Beckett asked with a smile. When her husband glanced at her in obvious surprise she told him, "It would make sense if they're meant as a distraction."

"Not patsies?" Castle said.

"Not really," Beckett replied. "If that profile Brad was talking about is accurate-"

"He wants the credit for himself," Castle with her at the same time.

"Exactly. So while they spend time talking to them we should at the very least look into these kids," Beckett said.

"If you're looking for their records they're here," Hutchinson said, coming inside the office. She took the three files on the desk and handed them to Beckett before saying, "Let the chief know these are the phone records for all three men; they had a number that was used to contact them."

"Burner phone?" Castle asked. When the officer nodded he said quickly, "Thanks Hutchinson."

"They have a few juvenile misdemeanors," Beckett said as she was reading. "Looks like they're a trio, shoplifting and one instance of marijuana posession but before it was legal. They were given into their parents' custody."

"What was the last charge?" Castle asked.

"Shoplifting," Beckett said simply. "But two years ago. It looks like they cleaned up, but they were working minimum wage jobs."

"Hopefully their financials are coming up," Castle said. He heard footsteps nearing the office and he looked up, thinking that it would be that information. Instead it was the chief and he was going to ask what was wrong when Beckett ended up doing so first.

"What did they say?" she asked hurriedly.

"Nothing," Brad said. "We didn't talk to them because we just got a call. The box? Just reported stolen by someone on Commission Lane and they have footage of the bomber."


	10. Hopeless Souls Shout

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Really nice reading the feedback I got for the last chapter, so I'll go ahead and get straight to my thank yous for that! vetgirlmx (Great reading that you thought it was a very good chapter. I wasn't surprised you were aware I wouldn't hurt kids too badly, or that you're glad they are okay. And you made a good point about being glad that it was Julia's class. Since she got that warning she was able to get them away enough so there wouldn't be any casualties. I figured the kids would be too relieved about being okay to worry about how exactly Julia knew to get them out of the room, but I'm not surprised you mentioned it. And yeah, her parents wouldn't really mock her or anything like that, but she would want to keep that quiet around people who aren't her friends. I know a lot of people who have that ability that will do that. And I'm not surprised you thought it was creepy about Eliza. Her being able to speak to the spirit I took from a story I saw about a little girl who could speak and see spirits. Now I don't have Eliza talking to spirits all the time, but when she sees him she will, lol, just showing that she can do that. No surprise at all that you think the FBI guys are a little stuck up. But yeah, they did have to suck it up when they called them back, lol. And not surprised that you think they'll see it was a good decision letting them continue to investigate eventually. Again, there's no surprise you're curious to see what they see in the footage. You made an interesting point about if the bomber's face is there it would be deliberate and they're stepping up their game, so definitely dangerous you're right. Not surprised you're hoping they get something so they can get close to arresting the bomber since they're traumatizing dogs and now attacking kids as you put it. So of course you want him gone and soon and now you can read more about that!),

MsNYC (I had to laugh a bit at you saying you were surprised Beckett hadn't gotten feisty towards Scarsi, though if he's pissing you off with his attitude it makes sense. But you're getting what I was doing having her not doing that, not wanting to stress out the baby. And yeah, she had to reel Castle in so not surprised you mentioned that. And interesting you think Castle may be the one to flip at the agents, have to see. So happy seeing that you loved the flashback in this one, though I do know you love those, lol. No surprise you're glad that they've got a lead, though I laugh again at you mentioning them closing the case sooner so the agents can leave. So great you think this is a great lineup; or storyline. And of course, I'm happy you can't wait to find out who's behind the bombings, also their motive too if it involves messing with Brad as you put it. Great to see you thought it was great writing as usual!),

Mb (I'm not surprised that you were anxious at the beginning of the chapter to see how things turned out. Also, not surprised you were happy there were only minor injuries and nothing serious or deaths; but I couldn't have done that really. Interesting to see you wondering if it was planned as a warning or did Julia seeing the spirit help anything more serious from happening; you'll see. I had to have Brad have an open mind, especially in this case since of course he knows Julia and knows she wouldn't lie about what happened. And yeah, had to have him protect her from telling other people about the warning from the spirt since others wouldn't be so understanding. I had to laugh but I wasn't shocked at all you find Scarsi and his partner unimpressive after they kicked Castle and Beckett off the case though Brad vouched for them and wanted them there. And yeah, lol, you put exactly why I had Brad wanting them there since they're an asset along with being their best chance to find the bomber that's avoided them all in Albany. And I wasn't surprised you mentioned when they were talking about Beckett accidentally cutting her wrists during the sniper case with Julia; I figured that was a sort of connection between them though I hadn't planned that, lol. Great you thought the first half was a fantastic update. And of course, you're very welcome for that half too! I'm very pleased to see that you too enjoy the flashbacks. But I can see why since of course they're there to fill in parts of the story I wasn't able to fit in. Not surprised again that you weren't impressed with the agents. But interesting that you think they'll probably take all the credit once the bomber is found. I'm not surprised either that you too were glad they had to ask Castle and Beckett to help with the case again. I also wasn't surprised that you mentioned the teenagers being a distraction to throw them, that can happen with a case of course, but I do agree with the idea of keeping them unbalanced, lol. Interesting to see that you think the suspect might be a local considering the cameras and the skiff too. But it was also interesting that you think they might be or was in law enforcement, have to see how that turns out of course! I wasn't surprised you're wondering if the footage they got was planned by the suspect, figured some people would wonder, lol. Happy to read that you thought it was a fantastic update for the second half. And you're very welcome for that half too!) and

TORONTOSUN (Nice to read that you liked that Julia's sixth sense kicked in before the bomb went off. And so, so happy that you like the new names for the dogs! Not surprised at all that you like how Castle and Beckett are back to solving the case, great reading that too!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them as always and I am so grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Tears of the World_ by George Harrison, from the rejected track list of his album _Somewhere in England_.

Hopeless Souls Shout

"Jules?" Eliza said as she went over to her sister. "Are you gonna go outside?"

"Nah, Mommy and Daddy would be really mad at me if I did," Julia said before turning to look at her. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Grandpapa wond… won…" Eliza said because she paused.

"Wondered," Julia pronounced for her quickly. "Where I went?" she then finished for her sister. When Eliza nodded she smiled and said, "I just wanted to look outside."

"They don't hurt?" the little girl then asked shyly.

Julia smiled again at her and she said, "Nope, it's weird I was really worried about my friends and what Mommy and Daddy would think when they found out. I didn't care too much about me."

"Maybe you're a grown up," Eliza suggested.

"I don't think so," Julia said. She was about to speak again when her sister looked past her and she turned, seeing it was her best friend which made her open the door quickly.

"Julia!" Mari cried out as she ran up the steps. As soon as she'd reached her friend she threw her arms around her and burst into tears. "They said what happened in the library and I knew it was your class. You're hurt!"

"I'm okay," Julia said, wrapping her arms around her after recovering from the shock of that.

"No, I can see your arms!" Mari exclaimed.

"They're just little cuts," Julia was quick to say reassuringly. She gently pushed Mari away so they could look at each other and she told her, "I don't feel hurt or anything."

"No?" the little girl asked with a slight sob.

"Nope," Julia said, smiling at her. She wasn't surprised when her friend hugged her tightly and she embraced her back.

"Hello Mari," Jim said, having come over to that hallway in time to see Mari hugging his granddaughter. "And she's not lying; she's been doing her homework and playing with the dogs."

"That's right," Julia said, suddenly remembering. "Come and see them."

"But I've seen your dogs already," Mari replied as she dried her cheeks with one hand and the other was being held by Julia as she pulled her over to the main hallway. She looked at the dogs in front of the family room and said, "Did you get more?"

"Yep, that's Max and that's Molly," Julia told her friend proudly. "Mommy and Daddy got them for us."

"Really? I thought your mom said no more," Mari said, letting the dogs all sniff her hands before they nudged at them and she did her best to pet them.

Julia watched as Jim took her sister over to the kitchen to get them some milk and she then whispered, "I think that they belonged to someone with their case."

"The person who got killed?" Mari asked, keeping her voice low as well.

"I think so," Julia said, nodding her head. "They probably were gonna have to go to the shelter."

"Wow… your mom is the best," Mari said in wonder.

"Just my mom?" Julia asked in slight amusement.

"Well I bet your dad was okay with more dogs, but your mom wasn't until them," Mari replied. "Are they nice?"

"Yeah, they keep looking around though," Julia answered. "I think for my parents."

"Are they gonna be the baby's dogs?" Mari asked. When her friend nodded she said, "Are you gonna have three dogs in your bed?"

"Just until the baby is born," Julia replied with a smile. "Did your mom and dad say you can come over?"

"Yeah, I wouldn't leave my mommy alone," Mari said. "I wanted to know if you were okay."

"Good, maybe you can even stay for dinner," Julia said.

"But your parents aren't here to ask," Mari pointed out to her.

"Grandpapa is, that's good enough," Julia told her seriously.

"I don't know honey," Jim said as he and Eliza were walking over to them. "We should still ask your parents, also we should text them to let them know we'll have one more for dinner." When the three looked at him in surprise he smiled and said, "I should admit that I know already what they'll say. But of course, we should still ask."

"Will you?" Eliza asked. She then smiled over at Mari and said, "We're gonna play Life and I want you to play too."

"Me too," Julia said. She watched as Eliza and her grandfather went into the family room and she hugged her friend tightly. "Oh Mari I'm so glad you weren't in there with us. I was so scared about everyone getting hurt I was happy you were in your class."

"What happened?" Mari asked her.

Julia explained everything, even the spirit warning her, before she finished with, "But I could keep my mommy from knowing anything happened."

"Did you do that before?" Mari said with wide eyes.

"No but I thought of a gate and that worked," Julia said. "I'm gonna try it when I go to bed, so Mommy won't have any nightmares about me."

"Think she would?" Mari asked her.

"Yeah, so I have to make sure she won't," Julia began. "She needs to get sleep for the baby." She then turned her attention to her friend and with a smile said, "Want to start playing now?"

"Yep," Mari replied, taking her hand, looking at her friend's arm. When Julia tugged her after her she was relieved she was okay and then followed her into the family room.

"What are you three going to play?" Jim asked as he looked up at the girls' entrance.

"Well we're gonna play games after," Julia said.

"You can still play," Eliza protested. "Let's play Twister!"

"Okay," Julia said as she looked at Mari.

"We didn't play that for a long time," the little girl told her with a slight giggle.

"Then we should play now," Julia replied. "Will you say where we need to put our feet and hands?"

"I can," Eliza said. When her sister and Mari looked at her she told them, "I can't play."

"Okay," Julia said, looking at her grandfather who simply smiled at her. She took off her slippers and then went with Mari over to the game to get it ready. Once the mat was out she waited for Eliza to spin before she called out what she had gotten.

"Right hand red," the little girl said. As soon as her sister had placed her hand she spun again and then said, "Left foot yellow."

After that Julia and Mari began to place their hands and feet on the mat until they were finally falling together onto it as they were laughing heavily. They smiled at one another widely as they untangled themselves from each other and got up.

"Your-" Mari said worriedly as she noticed her friend's arms.

"They're okay," Julia said. "That was fun, but Grandpapa can we go up to the library?"

"Okay," Jim said. He waited for Eliza to demand she go up with them, but he was startled when she just watched the two leaving with Macca and JoJo. "You don't want to go with them?" he asked her.

"No, Mari is still scared about Jules," Eliza replied. "Mommy would say they have to talk."

"You're very smart," Jim told her, pulling her close to him.

"Thanks," Eliza said. "Can we play the hippo game now?"

"Of course, go ahead get it," Jim said, letting her go to the cabinet. At the same time, he hoped Julia and Mari would be alright, knowing that the dogs would watch over them while they were talking together upstairs.

"Sorry Julia," Mari was saying to her friend once they were walking down the hall.

"No, it's okay I would worry too," Julia assured her. When they reached her room, she tugged her inside and said, "Better we talk here."

"Yeah," Mari replied. They went quickly onto her friend's bed and she sighed saying, "I wish I could spend the night."

"Do you have your phone? Ask your mom and dad," Julia told her eagerly. "Text them."

"Oh… kay," Mari said before she smiled widely.

Julia watched hopefully as her friend texted the question on her phone to her mother, crossing her fingers at the same time before the message was sent. She didn't want to have to sleep with just the dogs; knowing that she was probably going to have a nightmare herself; and waited with Mari for the text to be answered to see if they could spend that night together.

"Oh… she said it was okay," Mari said, beaming up at her friend.

"She did," Julia said in surprise.

"You think she would say no?" Mari said with a smile.

"Well there's school tomorrow," Julia pointed out.

"Yeah but she said she knew I was going to ask," Mari replied. She smiled and showed her message to her friend and said, "My dad is gonna bring my stuff in a little bit."

"Wait, what about my parents?" Julia said.

Mari opened her mouth to speak before she paused and became thoughtful saying, "Maybe you can text them."

"I guess," Julia replied hesitantly.

"You don't want to?" Mari asked her.

"I do but I don't like to do it when they're working," Julia said before she finally got her phone out of her pocket. She quickly texted her mother, hoping when she pressed send that she would be okay with her friend spending the night.

Mari; when Julia had gotten a response back; watched her reading the message and said, "Well?"

"It's okay," the girl replied, smiling widely at her father. "And Mommy's glad you're here." She then became thoughtful and said, "Want to walk to your house?"

"Really fast?" Mari asked.

"Yep," Julia said. When her friend immediately got off the bed she laughed and scrambled to do the same with her before she said, "Let's go ask my grandpapa, maybe we can take the dogs with us." She smiled when Mari nodded rapidly in agreement and they hurried together downstairs to where Jim and Eliza were playing together.

"Are you gonna play?" the little girl asked, looking at the two of them.

"No, Mommy and Daddy," Julia began. "And Mari's mom and dad said that she can stay the night, but she needs her stuff. Can we go get it?"

"Of course," Jim replied. "But you need to bundle up and take your phone."

"What about the dogs?" Julia asked.

Jim glanced outside and said, "I think you better leave them here. Just go yourselves."

"I'll stay with the doggies," Eliza said. "Say hi to Dani?"

"Of course," Julia assured her. "Let's go get your stuff."

"Yeah," Mari replied since she'd been talking to her. They hurried over to the entry and she said when she was wrapping her scarf around her neck, "What will we do when we come back?"

"I dunno… go up to my room again?" Julia began. "Oh! Want to practice some dancing since we didn't have class today?"

"Sure," Mari replied before they went down the hall to where Jim and Eliza were waiting for them.

"Come straight back home," he told the two while they were walking to the door to the backyard.

"We will," Julia and Mari said at the same time. They waved to the two and then made their way outside holding hands.

Squeezing her friend's hand Mari said, "Can I see your arms?"

"Yeah, I think Mommy's going to change the bandages later before I go to bed," Julia said. "Why? I don't think even my mom's gonna kiss them to make them better."

Mari, her cheeks a bright red at the idea, shook her head and told her, "I just want to see and make sure that you're okay."

"Oh, okay," Julia said, smiling at her. She squeezed her hand before they reached the back of her friend's home and she let Mari knock on the sliding door.

"Hey, I was just about to leave," David said with a smile. "Did Rick and Kate say that you could stay the night?"

"I texted them," Julia explained.

"Texted them, so they went back to work?" David asked them.

"Yeah," Julia said. "An hour ago, I think. Did you ask for them to go?"

"I told the FBI agents myself," David replied, handing his daughter her overnight bag. "And I'm so stupid I forgot to ask, how are you Julia?"

"I'm fine," the girl replied with a smile. "Mari made sure."

"I'm not surprised," Rebecca said, coming over to them with Dani walking next to her. "But we were all worried."

"Thanks, everyone in my class is okay too," Julia said, trying not to blush too deeply. "Just some cuts like me."

"Good to hear," David commented. "Alright you two should head back before we all freeze. Mari, I love you and have a great night over there."

"Thanks, I love you too Daddy," Mari told her seriously before she hugged him tightly. She shared a kiss with him and then went to her little sister, hugging her, "Bye Dani, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye, bye," Dani replied, waving to her sister.

"Bye Mommy, I love you," Mari said to Rebecca.

"Goodbye honey, we'll see you tomorrow going to school if it's not snowing okay?" she asked her daughter.

"Okay," Mari replied as they hugged.

"I love you, have a nice night and listen to all the adults over there," Rebecca finally said before they shared a kiss.

"I will," Mari said with a laugh. She waved to her family and then hurried with her friend down the yard until they were on the beach walking hand in hand on the sand.

"Did you think of anything yet now?" Julia asked her friend.

"I thought we were gonna dance," Mari replied.

"After that," Julia said.

Laughing softly Mari said, "Let's wait until we finish, what if it's time for dinner?"

"Oh… alright," Julia replied before they reached her house and went inside.

"Welcome back," Jim said as he joined them at the door.

"Hi Grandpapa," Julia told him with a smile. "We're gonna practice dancing in my room."

"With Eliza?" Jim said as he took their coats. He wasn't surprised when his granddaughter looked unsure and he told them, "Ask her first."

Julia tried not to groan as she had a feeling her little sister would want to go with them; wanting to dance and play alone with Mari; but she nodded instead and walked over to the family room where Eliza was. "Whatcha doing?" she asked her sister.

"Getting another game for me and Grandpapa," Eliza said simply. She smiled at her sister and said, "Wanna play?"

"We're gonna practice since we didn't go to our dance class today," Julia replied, shaking her head. "Do you want to go with us?"

"I wanna play with Grandpapa," Eliza replied.

"Okay, later we'll play," Julia said, waving to her before she turned to Mari who was behind her.

Jim watched the two go, smiling slightly as he'd been able to tell that his granddaughter had wanted them to dance alone. He hoped they'd have fun before he turned his attention back to Eliza and the next game she'd picked out for them, seeing it was one of her more active video games.

Upstairs in her room once more Julia watched as Macca, JoJo and Max sat together on the end of it and smiled before she said, "I guess they're all sharing with me."

"I think so," Mari replied with a smile.

"Oh, with us tonight," Julia replied. "Ready?" she asked.

"Yep," Mari said eagerly.

Nodding Julia said, "We were gonna dance the Foxtrot and then the Viennese Waltz. Which one should we start with?"

"I think the Foxtrot, I like that one a lot better," Mari said.

Julia laughed softly and said, "Like having dessert first?"

"Yep," Mari replied.

"Okay, let me get the song that Ms. Grey played for us," Julia said, going to her phone. She soon found it before she then turned to Mari and said, "Music first or second?"

"Second, let's just do the steps now so we can remember them," the little girl said. She giggled when Julia went to her and hugged her laughingly and she then said, "Are you okay dancing the boy's steps?"

"Yeah, let's start now," Julia said. And with that she then began to count off their steps so they could go around their room. At first, she was concentrating on the steps but once they'd stopped she glanced at the bed and started to laugh again.

"What's wrong?" Mari asked, confused as to why she was doing that.

"Look at the dogs," Julia said.

Turning her head Mari saw they were sitting there with their heads on their paws, watching them and she smiled. "Think they were watching us?" she asked her friend.

"Yep," Julia said. "Now we can do those steps to music," she told her. When her friend nodded she got in hold with Mari before they proceeded to dance to the song their teacher used in their class.

"Phew, I love that last sliding step," the little girl said when they'd finished.

"I know," Julia said with a knowing smile. "And you know what I love?"

"The spinning?" Mari asked. When her friend nodded; a wide smile on her face; she laughed softly and then said, "That's why we're doing the Viennese Waltz next."

"Ms. Grey said we were," Julia replied, coming back to her after petting all three dogs. She got in hold with her friend and they began their steps together, mostly spinning though she knew their teacher wasn't going to do that in their lesson. After a while of gliding together around and around they soon stopped, and she studied Mari closely.

"What?" she asked in slight surprise.

Shaking her head quickly Julia said, "You're getting much better." When Mari thanked her, she smiled and then let go of her to say, "Should we dance to the music?"

"Let's wait until we go to class tomorrow," the little girl replied.

"Okay," Julia said before they went over to the bed together.

"Did you finish your book yet?" Mari asked.

"No, it's taking me a while," Julia replied with a soft laugh. "It's a long book."

"Do you like it?" Mari then said.

"Oh yeah, I like her she's a cool girl," Julia said with a nod. "She loves making up stories and she gets into trouble a lot because they're really strict."

"It's in Canada?" Mari asked.

"Yeah," Julia said, getting off the bed and picking up her tablet. She opened it and then pulled up a map from the internet showing Mari saying, "Vancouver Island which is so cool 'cause the pictures are really pretty."

Watching her friend going to another page Mari gasped and said, "Look at all the trees there, they're so pretty! And this one," pointing out another picture with waves breaking.

"I know," Julia said. She looked up at her friend and said, "I think I'll tell my mom and dad that we should go there too."

"They went there didn't they?" Mari asked.

"Yep, a… I don't remember how many years maybe two or three," Julia said after thinking that over for a moment. "They went to a resort and then had to solve a murder."

"They did?" Mari said.

"Yep, but you have to promise not to tell anyone," Julia told her seriously.

"Why?" Mari asked.

"Because I heard them talking about it," Julia replied. "Well… my mom was talking about it with Lily; she didn't know I was listening."

"Where was your dad?" Mari asked.

With a smile; as she wasn't surprised her friend was wondering where her father had been; Julia told her, "He was in the city overnight, something about the comic book that they were making for his Nikki Heat books."

"Oh, that makes sense," Mari said after thinking that over and nodding. She then smiled and told her, "They had fun still right?"

"Of course," Julia replied. "But Mommy said that something happened with Daddy and she thought he was hurt or something so that wasn't."

"I know how she feels," Mari said softly, smiling shyly at her friend.

"Thanks, I would feel the same way about you too," Julia told her seriously before they embraced. She then smiled and asked her, "When we grow up do you want to go around like we do with our families?"

"Just us?" Mari asked her.

"Yeah, it would be a lot of fun," Julia told her.

With a smile Mari said, "Yeah that would be a lot of fun."

"Cool, we have to think of where to go," Julia said with a smile.

"Not yet, we have to go with our families first," Mari protested before they both began to laugh.

When they calmed down Julia then said, "What about your book?"

"Oh, it's sooo good!" Mari said eagerly. "Felicity left her guitar her grandfather gave her in the rain, so I think she's gonna get in trouble."

"That sounds like a great book," Julia said.

"Why didn't you ever read the _American Girl_ books?" Mari said.

"I don't know… I should 'cause they're history just like the _Dear America_ and _Canada_ books," Julia said thoughtfully. "Think I can borrow one to see if I like it? Or am I too old?"

"No, you can read them," Mari said. "Do you want to go in order?"

"Yeah," Julia said.

"I'll give you the first Kaya book," Mari replied. "I hope you like them, that way we can share them too."

"When is Kaya?" Julia then asked.

"1764," Mari answered. "So a long time ago."

"Cool," Julia replied before she and Mari started to laugh together heavily. When they finally calmed down she was going to speak when her friend interrupted her.

"Did you learn it yet?" Mari asked, serious.

"Learn what?" Julia said, wondering why she was so serious.

"Family Life, remember you said your mom told you about it?" Mari replied.

"I can't tell you," Julia said, not surprised she'd asked. "At least nothing else but that."

"Who would know?" Mari asked.

Shaking her head Julia told her, "Our moms would know."

"Oh," Mari said, frowning. "Yeah I forgot about their mommy powers."

Julia watched with a smile as her friend playfully collapsed on her stomach on her pillow and she said, "Want to know something I can tell you though?"

"What?" Mari asked interestedly.

"Remember when my dad was asleep before?" Julia replied. When her friend nodded she said, "He was dreaming then, and he saw us there."

"Saw… well yeah he loves you all," Mari replied, a little confused as to why her friend thought that was interesting.

"Not just us, he saw us in 1926 in San Francisco," Julia said.

"Oh cool, was everyone there?" Mari asked.

"Not everyone, but Skye was my mom's sister and their brother was killed so Daddy investigated with Mommy helping. He was a detective there," Julia replied.

"Wow… is that it?" Mari asked.

Laughing Julia then told her friend what her father had said, and she said with a smile when she'd finished, "I knew that they were gonna be together."

"Of course," Mari replied. "But they had Alexis together?"

"Yep, 'lexis knows," Julia said. "And I think she wishes that were true." When her friend nodded knowingly she then added, "My dad thinks it's a past life."

"I think so too," Mari said with a smile. "It has to be, your mom and dad are so much in love…"

Julia giggled and said, "I think so too." She was about to speak before she paused and then, at Mari's insistence, said, "I had some dreams about that."

"You did?" the little girl said in surprise.

Nodding her head Julia said, "I was with Mommy and we were going to a beach together. No, we were at a beach, and we were wearing clothes from the thirties I think," trying to remember it exactly.

"At San Francisco?" Mari asked her.

"Yep and then Daddy was there with all my sisters," Julia said.

"Could you see your littlest sister?" Mari said.

"No, Daddy says the same thing," Julia replied. "But we were playing together, and we were all happy. Mommy and Daddy too."

"You were the big sister," Mari pointed out.

"I don't mind being the second sister," Julia replied. She thought for a moment and said, "And then we had a picnic and it was fun. Which is really good 'cause it was the Great Depression then too."

"What year was it?" Mari said, startled that Julia looked surprised at what she'd said.

"Um… 1934," Julia replied. I was… twelve then and I think Lizzy was seven, 'lexis was six and our baby sister was four."

"Did you ever see you growing up?" Mari then asked after they were quiet for a while.

"Yeah," Julia said with a slight smile. "I was a woman and I was married to someone, but I don't know who. I just came home and was happy and there was a little girl with us."

"You want to have a baby girl?" Mari said with a little smile herself.

"I don't want to have a baby like my mom is now," Julia said. "But I know people adopt kids; Skye and Mary did."

"Think that's what you did in your dream?" Mari said.

"I think so, but she was very sweet," Julia replied. "I don't know what she looked like."

"Maybe it was a past life," Mari replied. "And you can't see her yet 'cause she's really gonna be your daughter."

"That would be so nice," Julia said. She smiled at the thought and said, "We lived at the house where my aunts were. Oh, and I forgot to say my grandmama was there too."

"Wow… did you see her in your dream?" Mari asked.

"The first one," Julia replied. "Oh, it was so nice…"

Mari was startled when her friend burst into tears and she wrapped her arms around her tightly saying, "It's okay, I know your grandmama would have loved you. She visited you, didn't she?"

"Yeah but it was really quick," Julia said, staring to calm down. She pulled away from her friend and was taken aback when Mari gently thumbed away her tears on her cheeks. She smiled at her and said, "Thanks."

"My mom does that for me, it makes me feel better," the little girl explained, lowering her hands and becoming shy.

Julia looked down at her hands and then back up at Mari before she said, "I think you were there."

"In which dream?" Mari asked.

"I don't know," Julia said. She paused and was going to speak before she smiled a little and said, "Maybe we should go now, we've been here for a while and I do want to spend time with my grandpapa."

"Do we have to?" Mari said with an exaggerated sigh. She then smiled quickly so her friend wouldn't think she was serious and added, "I would like that too, he's fun to play with."

"Yep, come on," Julia said before she climbed down from her bed.

"Tell me one thing about what your mom told you," Mari said. "Was it weird?"

"The Family Life stuff?" Julia said. When the little girl nodded she then said, "A little 'cause she told me about boys too, but I guess we should know that too since there are boys and men around."

"Yeah," Mari said before she grabbed her overnight bag while Julia went to get her pillow she kept there for when she spent the night. "I should unpack first," she told her friend before Julia nodded in agreement.

"So now we can do something else," the girl said to her friend as she watched her unpacking her uniform and pajamas.

"I guess, are you gonna wear your pants tomorrow?" Mari said.

"I think I should," Julia said. "It's still gonna be cold and I don't want to wear a skirt."

Mari giggled as her friend stuck her tongue out playfully and then said; since she was finished with her clothes, "Remember that you said you wanted to go to the library."

"Yep, to see my parents' books," Julia replied.

"You mean books that they said you have to be grown up to read?" Mari asked.

"Yeah, let's go before we go down with Grandpapa and Lizzy," Julia said before she took her hand and they went out and down the hall to the library.

"Which book do you want to look at?" Mari said, looking at some thick and old appearing books in one bookcase.

"Not those, those are in Russian," Julia told her, taking her hand and pulling her over to another bookshelf.

"Your mom reads those?" Mari asked.

"Yeah but she's trying to teach Daddy too," Julia answered before she pointed. "Those," she said.

"But… your parents said you couldn't look at them," Mari said as they were her friends' parents' actual books.

"I did already remember?" Julia reminded her. When her friend frowned she sighed and said, "I just want to look at one book."

Mari shrugged then before she watched her friend going to the shelf, pulling out a book. " _Hamptons Heat_?" she asked, reading the title.

"Yeah, this was the last one before my dad wrote with my mom," Julia replied. "Did you ever see this?"

"Nope," Mari replied. She leaned over as her friend opened the book to a page and said, "Is that the dedication?" Julia nodded, and she leaned over, reading what Castle had written there for Beckett. "Oh… how come you wanted me to read that?" she asked.

"You didn't like it?" the girl asked.

Shaking her head Mari told her, "I feel like that's just between your parents."

"But everyone reads it," Julia replied.

"Then why did your dad write it?" Mari asked.

"I think it's 'cause he wanted everyone to know that he loved my mommy," Julia said. She was going to go to the start of the book but then paused before she heard running footsteps. "It's Lizzy," she said, closing the book hard and rushing to put it away.

"Hey, how come you're here?" Mari asked to cover for her friend as the little girl entered the room.

"Grandpapa said I can come over," Eliza replied, going to them. She then took a detour past them, going to the window seat and looking out.

"Is it snowing?" Julia asked, going after her and glancing at Mari.

"No but I wonder where Mommy and Daddy are," Eliza replied.

"Probably still working," Julia said before she paused in realization. "Oh, they're not gonna be outside though. It's too cold and Daddy wouldn't let Mommy go outside."

"No?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"Nope," Julia said, smiling when her little sister did. She hugged her quickly before she then said, "Grandpapa is all alone."

"The dogs," Mari pointed out to them.

"Still, did you finish playing?" Julia asked her little sister.

"I got tired," Eliza replied. She then said, "What about you?"

"We're done," Julia said, glancing quickly at Mari. "Should we go with you?"

"Yeah, Grandpapa is alone," Eliza told them, stomping her foot before she smiled widely.

With some laughter the three girls left the room and hurried downstairs to where Jim was sitting in the family room, looking at a book before he glanced at them and smiled before beginning to speak.

"Are you done playing?" Jim said to them.

"No," Julia said. She then paused and told him, "Well… playing upstairs."

"Good clarification," Jim replied as she came over to him and hugged him around the neck. He kissed her cheek and asked, "Are you alright?"

"Yep, what can we do now?" Julia asked.

"Whatever you'd like," Jim said. "Within reason."

Laughing softly Julia said, "I knew that already. Well… can we do some art?"

"I wanna play a game," Eliza said.

"You can do that while they're working on art," Jim pointed out quickly as he could tell from her tone of voice that she would become argumentative.

"Oh…" Eliza said.

"We're gonna make bracelets," Julia suddenly said. She glanced at Mari and added, "For our moms?"

"Do you want to do that?" Jim asked, trying not to smile as he knew the girl had just come up with that.

"Yeah," Mari replied quickly with a nod. She then smiled and said, "I didn't do that for a long time."

"Me neither," Julia said. With that she and her friend quickly went to grab the beads she and Eliza had to make stuff and they sat down together at the coffee table. She was startled when her little sister joined her and glanced at her grandfather questioningly.

"I think she wants to join you," Jim said.

"What're you gonna do Grandpapa?" Julia asked.

"I'll think of something," Jim replied. "Let me know if you need any help."

"Okay," Julia said, her sister and friend echoing her. She watched her grandfather grab what she knew was his crossword puzzle book and she smiled, relieved he had something to do before she turned her attention to the beads and her necklace.

"Are Mommy and Daddy working right now?" Eliza asked.

"Of course…" Julia started to say before she paused. "What time is it Grandpapa?"

"It's four, probably a little bit longer before your parents come home girls," Jim said after he'd checked the time on his watch.

"They said they won't be late," Julia told her little sister when she saw she looked dismayed.

"They'll want to be with you and your sister of course," Jim added.

"Yeah, they'll want to see you," Mari told them.

"Especially after what happened today," Julia commented, looking at her arms.

"Are you okay?" Jim asked her.

Julia couldn't help laugh and when she'd managed to stop she quickly said, "Sorry but I'm just remembering everyone asking Mommy if she's okay. But I am."

"How're your bracelets going?" Jim asked.

"Good, Lizzy who're you making your bracelet for?" Julia asked her sister.

"'lexis," Eliza said simply. She studied the string of beads she had so far and said, "Will she like this?"

"Yeah, she likes the color red," Julia reassured her.

"And you don't use just red," Mari pointed out as well. "She'll like the white and black."

"Yeah," Eliza said. They worked together for a little longer and then she said, "How was your dancing?"

"A lot of fun," Julia said first. "But we didn't do anything really special. I bet Ms. Grey is gonna have us do the same thing tomorrow."

"Oh… kay," Eliza replied. She then said, "Let's do something special with Mommy and Daddy."

"Like what?" Julia asked interestedly.

"What if we dance together for them?" Eliza asked.

Jim looked up when Julia and Mari exclaimed, and he was startled when they suddenly got up together and left him. He started to get up to follow them when he heard Julia call back.

"We're gonna practice Grandpapa, we want you to be surprised too," the girl said. "We'll be in the parlor."

"Go after them you guys," Jim told the dogs as he didn't want them to be completely alone. He was startled slightly when four of the dogs ran off, only Rita and JoJo staying with him. "Thank you," he told them before he sat down again on his armchair. As he went back to the puzzle he'd been on he wondered what exactly they'd be seeing of the three dancing. The thought made him smile as he could easily hear them talking but focused on the puzzle to wait to watch them with his daughter and son in law.


	11. Hopeless Souls Shout (Part 2)

"This is a god damn goose chase," Scarsi said bitterly. "Why the hell did they bother sending this to us?"

"Maybe because you can see the car," Castle pointed out.

"He's right," Coupe said, holding his hand up to stop his partner. "But that doesn't help us."

"It may," Beckett said. "That's a Bentley Bentayga."

"She's right," Castle added as the two men looked slightly confused. "That's a little rarer but not so much out here."

"Have your people check on that," Coupe told Brad. When the chief left he said, "We need you two to leave if that's possible, we'll be contacting DC."

Beckett touched the back of her husband's arm and said to the agents, "Not an issue," before she walked out.

"You're sure it's not an issue?" Castle asked her once they were in Brad's office.

"I'm sure; you really think they'd allow us to listen in on that conversation?" Beckett replied simply, sitting down on a chair. She studied the murder board and said, "I-" before her text alert rang.

"Julia?" Castle asked.

" _Mommy Mari came home, worried about me_ -" Beckett started to say.

"Good thing she's got auto correct," Castle began.

Looking up at him but not moving her head Beckett said, "It's not auto correct."

"Then auto suggest," Castle suggested.

Beckett shook her head, slightly smiling, before she turned her attention to the rest of the message reading, " _Can she stay the night? Her m &d say it's ok_."

"I'm assuming we will too?" Castle asked, watching her closely and startled to see the frown on her face.

"Yeah," Beckett said slowly. She then looked up at her husband and when she saw the concerned expression on his face she said, "I'm just wondering how worried Mari was. I completely forgot about her."

"So did I," Castle replied. "But," he continued. "She's with Julia now and knows that she's fine. I bet you anything they're practicing right now or will because they didn't have their lesson today."  
Beckett smiled and began typing out her response to their oldest, reading it for her husband at the same time. "That's fine, we will be home as soon as we can and we'll see you, Eliza and Mari then; glad that she's there."

"Okay," Castle replied as she hit send. "Think she'll want dessert?"

"I was thinking about that already," Beckett said.

"No?" Castle asked when she didn't continue.

"I'll let you know later," Beckett said, standing up.

Castle turned to the doorway; as he'd been facing her; and saw Brad coming up to them. "What is it?" he asked quickly.

"We found the car, it was stolen about three weeks ago," Brad said, putting a picture up on the murder board. "From Oyster Bay so it's local."  
"Is that it?" Beckett asked.

"Yes," Brad said simply. "And the owner is an Emily Sinclair who reported it stolen. It was located by its GPS system at a hotel in Southampton."

"It wasn't in use until then?" Castle said.

"No, which is wildly suspicious but when I told Scarsi and Coupe that they think it's accidental," Brad replied with a frown.

"The thief just happened to turn it on today?" Beckett said.

"I pointed that out, but they said if it was the bomber then he might have done it while transporting the bomb over to the school," Brad told them. "In some kind of… agitation or excitement."

"That's a possibility," Beckett said.

"No, she's right," Brad said to Castle who'd opened his mouth to protest. "And I can disprove it of course. Now we're about to go but I'm trying to get them to allow you both to come with us."

"If they try and keep her here I'm not going either," Castle said.

"I think that's a given already," Brad said simply, shaking his head. He then said, "I'll have someone get you."

When his friend had left Castle turned to his wife and paused when he saw the expression on her face. "What?" he asked her when she didn't look away from the board.

Stepping up to it Beckett pointed to the picture of the school parking lot and said, "Why here?"

"You remember-" Castle replied in slight confusion.

"No, it's not because of the proximity to children," Beckett said.

"Then Eve and Jake?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he said, "That's a good idea but I don't know."

"The placing was convenient," Beckett replied. "I don't imagine he wanted to kill them; that would turn Brad into-"

"Batman?" Castle asked. "I know his parents were killed but-"

"I doubt I'd become Batman," Brad said wryly, walking inside. "Why are you talking about me like that?"

"I'm wondering about the reason behind the school," Beckett explained. "And if maybe this was a warning for you and a repeat of Albany and that playground; they probably didn't expect the windows in the library to blow out or a class to be in there either."

"Jake and Eve?" Brad asked. He breathed out heavily and then said, "I hadn't thought of that, but the funny thing is that they're not there, both their classes are out on field trips."

"Where?" Beckett asked.

"They're back now but Eve was going with her biology class to the tidepools in Greenport," Brad said. "And Jake's history class headed out to Sagamore Hill."

"Then it was a warning," Castle said.

"You're right," Brad said, breathing out heavily. "We're going, come on guys," he said seriously.

"Isn't… he going to tell the agents?" Castle asked his wife as they went together over to the door and out into the bull pen.

"Right now," Beckett said as she threw on her coat. She glanced at him and said, "It doesn't do much to help the case but I'm hoping they'll put some protection on Lily and the kids while we're working on this case."

"Do you think we could use the same?" Castle asked. When she shook her head he wasn't surprised before he stopped her and made her turn to him. " _What about them_?" he asked in Irish.

" _I really don't know_ ," Beckett responded. " _There's nothing we can do_."

" _I thought you'd talk to her_ ," Castle said.

Shaking her head Beckett said, " _I can but I don't think I will, she'd tell me what he told you_ ," nodding to Brad.

"Let's go," the chief said as he came up to them. "You can come but you park at the end of the lot looking towards the room of whoever the thief is. I have to figure that out first."

Following the chief, as they knew there was no way they could argue that, Castle and Beckett went over to their car when they were in the parking lot. He drove them, in between Brad and Hutchinson and the agents, both silent before he said, "This could bring them together. You know he's going to tell Lily about this."

"She might already know," Beckett said. "And you need to stop being nosy Rick. They'll work things out."

"You're so sure now?" Castle asked.

"Yes," Beckett replied. "I forgot about Jake and Eve. That's not why they're together but they love their family, all together, and they will make sure they stay that way."

Castle nodded as they'd reached the hotel and pulled up to the lobby where Brad was going. He watched with her as his friend jumped out and ran inside which made him murmur, "He doesn't want them with him."

"Not going to work," Beckett said as the two agents soon came up after him and went inside. "Though I can understand the sentiment."

"You know through our history working with-" Castle began.

"I would say Shaw was the easier one to work with," Beckett interrupted him.

"I would agree which is interesting since it wasn't exactly smooth sailing," Castle said when Brad came out then.

The chief, when his friend had rolled down his window, leaned in and said, "He's around the corner but there's a second building as you can see. I managed to negotiate with Scar and you can loop around that and then face this one right here."

"We'll wait for you to call us," Castle said.

"Hold on, whose car is it?" Beckett asked.

"Our second suspect though he was only a person of interest," Brad replied. "Alec Staines."

Watching him go Castle said, "What the hell are the odds of that?"

"No odds, it was planned," Beckett replied while he started to drive around as Brad had instructed them to. She leaned forward slightly in her seat as Brad went up with Coupe flanking him, assuming Scarsi was in the opposite direction from them. She waited for them to break down the door; when there was no obvious response; and saw them disappear inside.

"Do you-" Castle began.

"No," Beckett said quickly. "They have things in hand anyway."

"If you weren't pregnant?" Castle asked.

"That would have been a different answer," Beckett replied. She frowned when she saw Brad stepping out of the room and waving to them. "Something happened," she said when she saw shortly after he was speaking on his radio. She and Castle got out together and went as fast as they could up the stairs to the chief.

"It is Staines and he's dead," Brad told them simply.

Castle and Beckett went quickly over to the doorway and peered inside, seeing the wall behind the bed was spattered with blood. They shared a look and then went inside, peering at the body that had a gun on his index finger.

"Looks like suicide," Scarsi said first.

"The angle is leaning towards that," Coupe said slowly before he stood up.

"There's a note here," Scarsi said. "I'm not touching it though, Davis," he called out, going to the door.

When Coupe left Castle said in Irish, " _I don't think it was_."

" _Neither do I but I'm going to wait for_ Thayer," Beckett replied, speaking quickly as the agents were coming back. She was startled when Coupe tossed her a pair of gloves and she said, "So I'm allowed to look around?"

"We forgot you know how to do that," the man said simply.

Beckett wanted to comment but wasn't surprised when Brad; who'd come in while they were talking; shook his head quickly at her. So she kept silent but put on her gloves, looking at her husband who was left to watch them.

" _Should I go_?" Castle asked his wife.

"What the hell language is that?" Scarsi asked.

"Irish," Brad said.

"And you let them speak that while they're investigating with you?" Coupe inquired.

"They don't really do that around me," Brad said. "They'll keep it to a minimum."

"We should probably look around before Thayer gets here," Beckett pointed out.

Castle watched as the four began to go around the room, but he couldn't stay where he'd positioned himself near the doorway. He then went to the closet and commented, "He doesn't have much here and actually he doesn't have anything here."

"There's only a change of clothes here in the dresser," Beckett said to the others as she was checking it. "He didn't expect to be here long."

"Well the box was stolen yesterday," Castle replied.

"That really doesn't help," Scarsi said angrily. "We can't interview him to see where he went."

"My guess is an alley or that PO box," Castle commented.

"No, the post office said that Easter was the only one who brought anything in," Brad answered. "And of course, we found out how he picked up what he needed."

"Sir," Hutchinson called over to them. "The ME is here."

"Alright," Brad said. "You two go and call this in and I'll join you to-"

"And them?" Coupe asked as the chief had been talking to him and Scarsi.

"They know what they're doing," Brad said. "And I don't really need to order them around."

Beckett walked with Castle then quickly out to the balcony and she watched while the agents went past the ME coming down to them and then down the stairs.

"Think we should be concerned?" Castle asked her.

"No," Beckett said. "I think they're forgetting Brad had this case first."

"Nothing we haven't seen before," Castle commented as he leaned over on the railing. He looked around and said, "They'll have to canv-"

"You were close," Beckett said with a smile as he stopped himself when some squad cars pulled up.

"Hey, I'm ducking in to see what he's got," Brad replied as he walked up to them. "Luckily Scarsi and Coupe stayed away long enough for this, come on."

"I heard about the second bombing," Thayer said when he looked up at them. "Is your daughter okay?"

"That got through town?" Castle asked the ME.

"It did," Thayer replied.

"She's fine, some cuts from flying glass on her arms," Beckett said finally to his initial question.

"Glad to know she'll be alright," Thayer said, ending that questioningly. When Beckett nodded he then looked at Brad and said, "I can tell you right now I cannot specifically say whether this was murder or suicide; not without getting him to the morgue."

"We need to wait?" Brad asked.

"Yes, and hopefully you can come on your own," Thayer replied. "I'll get him out right now."

"CSU Davis," Coupe said then.

"Alright, everyone clear out," Brad said. "You guys head to the station and I'll see you there shortly."

Castle and Beckett nodded before they walked together quickly over to the door before the agents could say anything.

"Think they heard Thayer?" Castle asked his wife once they were finally at their car and they were far enough away.

"Doubtful," Beckett said simply. "But until then let's look at everything with this now."

" _Did you get what he sent_?" Castle asked her in Irish.

" _I did, we'll look at it there_ ," Beckett said quickly before they got in the car and he drove them back to the station.

* * *

"He admits to the murder," Castle began after his wife had tucked her phone away in her pocket. "But he messed up the details."

"Hopefully Scarsi and Coupe will make a note of that," Beckett said. She sighed and said, "This is weird."

"Oh?" Castle asked.

"Being shoved out," Beckett answered. "And don't tell me that's how you feel; I'm aware already."

Castle merely nodded before he said, "I guess we're just there for the leg work." He then looked at her from the murder board and said, "We do have great gams for that." He was surprised when his wife didn't say anything, and he said, "I'm still remembering that."

"I was thinking of something else," Beckett said slowly. When he looked at her questioningly she sighed and said, "It's probably not possible but what do you think about writing those characters in a book?"

"Historical or mystery?" Castle asked interestedly.

"It would end up being both," Beckett replied with a smile.

"That would be great, and I think you should handle it," Castle replied. When his wife just looked at him he said with a slight smile, "You can you know."

"I didn't experience it," Beckett replied. "That's where you would come in."

Shaking his head Castle said, "I think you should."

"How am I going to do that?" Beckett said. "I'm going to tell you again I didn't experience it like you did."

"But you could, I've told you so many times that you could easily dream it," Castle started to say. When she got up from where she was sitting he watched her go to the windows behind Brad's desk and said, "Have you?"

Beckett tried not to sigh again but she finally did so and said, "I have."

"What?" Castle asked interestedly again.

"Just… moments, not what you've told me but other things I have no clue how I know," Beckett replied. She glanced over at the door; since they'd closed it behind them once they'd gotten into the office so no one would see them looking at the so called suicide note; and then said, "Don't say it."

"I won't but you know what I'm thinking this is; why you're seeing this," Castle told her.

"I'm aware," Beckett said wryly.

"What have you seen?" Castle asked. When he saw her looking out to the bull pen he told her, "We have time; Brad's going to want to go through the room with a fine-toothed comb."

Beckett nodded, since she knew he was right about that, and she said, "I guess I should start with the first one. It was Christmas and we had our baby girl with us then."

"The first one after she was born?" Castle asked. When she nodded he smiled and said, "We gave them all sleds."

Not surprised when her husband looked startled at what he'd just said Beckett said, "Do I have to face the idea that this is our past life?"

"That's not up to me," Castle said quickly. He shook his head and then told her, "But things are leaning towards that. But why did we give them sleds?"

"For when we went to see snow?" Beckett replied. She shook her head and said with a slight groan, "Let's change the subject."

"Just one more thing," Castle said. "Have you been keeping track of everything?"

"Yeah," Beckett said after she'd hesitated for a moment. "Just quick notes."

"You could try," Castle said, bringing their discussion back to what they'd been talking about in the first place. "It would be great if you could write on your own."

Beckett thought about that for a moment and then shook her head saying, "We write together Rick; if you're right it's our lives so it stands to reason we should write together."

"That's true, would we make it crime at all? It would make things different from then" Castle asked her. "Also, what would you name them?"

"I wouldn't use our names of course," Beckett replied. "Besides that, that's all I know. And yes, we'll make it crime."

Castle studied her for a bit and said, "Tell me one more thing you've seen."

"I knew you were going to ask me that," Beckett said before she breathed out heavily. "Alright but I'll let you look at the notes I made. It was… I think when Alexis turned a year old. We were in San Francisco at the house we had then we were walking around downtown since it had stopped raining." She smiled slightly as her husband was doing so to her and she said, "And we walked around Union Square."

"You saw more?" Castle asked as she paused there.

"Don't sound so eager," Beckett told him. " _But yes we were making love and we were… passionate_."

" _That's usually how we are_ ," Castle said with a nod, speaking in Irish as well. He glanced behind him since his wife was doing so and said, "Let's see what we have. Ten bucks we're kicked out."

"No deal," Beckett managed to say before Brad was opening the door.

"I take it you were reading," the chief stated as he walked inside.

"We were," Castle said. "What do you think?"

"I think what you really want to know is what do Scarsi and Coupe think," Brad replied. "And I'm sorry for saying think so much."

"That can't be good," Castle told his wife.

"He's right, what do they think?" Beckett said as she watched the chief walk over to the board.

"They think," Brad began while he was putting pictures up on the board. "That Staines was under emotional stress when he wrote down that he had placed the bomb at the playground. That that proves he was our Albany bomber and the case could very well be closed."

"They're not saying it is for sure?" Castle asked.

"No because they luckily realize that they need to make sure about Staines before they close the case," Brad replied. "Which they're taking care of."

"And you?" Beckett asked him.

"I'm going to be looking into a possible other angle of the case; just in case it wasn't Staines," Brad said. "We'll be working on that at the moment. Anything you two got?"

"I'm wondering," Castle began.

"We're wondering," Beckett said quickly before her husband could continue. When he looked at her she shrugged and then said, "About past people of interest in the case; they don't need to be full-fledged suspects-"

"But if they were enough to warrant a check they'd be pertinent to our case," Castle finished for her.

"If they saw you two like this I'm pretty sure there would be no argument about your being here," Brad said to them both with a smile.

"Can you get a list of names?" Castle asked after nodding at the compliment.

"Of course, it's here," Brad replied, going over to the file for the Albany investigation.

Beckett took the pack of papers stapled together and said, "How many pages are here?"

"Five," Brad said. "We looked everywhere we could for anyone and that's what we got."

"And Easter was your only suspect?" Castle asked as he was looking over his wife's shoulder at the first page.

"That we could place near the playground," Brad replied. "He's still here by the way and couldn't have placed the bomb at the school."

"Unless he was working with Staines," Beckett said.

"They didn't know each other," Brad replied. "We checked to see if anyone at all knew one another and the only few were just because they were teachers at the same high school."

"And they were clear?" Beckett asked.

"They were," Brad said. He opened his mouth to say more when he heard a pounding on the door of his office; that he'd closed behind him; and he looked over with the two to see it was the agents. He sighed and waved them in before he said, "Did the ME finish?"

"It wasn't a suicide, no gunshot residue on Staines and the angle was all wrong," Coupe said first grimly. "So obviously you were right about the note. What are they looking at?"

"It's the list of all your suspects from Albany," Beckett said first. "Someone on here is your bomber."

"You can be so sure?" Scarsi said, nearly scoffing at the same time.

"No but it's a place to start since Easter is obviously clear and Staines was killed by whoever is running all of this," Beckett replied.

"Thank you for the suggestion," Scarsi said, going to her and taking the list. "And since we know these names, you two can head home."

Castle, when he and his wife exchanged a look, said, "Alright but are we going to be allowed to come back in?"

"I'll call you guys," Brad told them quickly, shooting a pointed look at the agents.

"Sure," Coupe said.

"Fine, whatever," Scarsi added as he was already looking down at the list.

After Brad had nodded to them Castle and Beckett grabbed their coats and outer layers before they went out of the office and through the bull pen to the parking lot in the back. They didn't say a word until they were in the car and he was starting it before backing up, Beckett speaking first.

"What do you think?" she asked.

"Oh… they're protective of the case," Castle said. "You have to hope they won't allow it to cloud their judgment."

"Maybe not," Beckett said.

"You don't sound too sure," Castle replied.

"Let's wait and see what they come up with since that's about all we can do," Beckett replied. "In the meantime, I want to go home and see our daughters."

"Badly?" Castle asked as he turned to where he would need to go to pick up dinner.

"Badly," Beckett echoed with a smile as she reached over and squeezed his hand. She leaned back in her seat trying to forget the stress from the case as she wanted to focus all her attention on their girls, knowing her husband was thinking the same as they got closer finally getting home.


	12. Try To Live Love

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was happy getting the feedback for the last chapter so I'll go right on to my thank yous for that! Guest (The reason the title of this story reads like it does is because it; like all but one of my story titles and all of my chapter titles; is from the song _Save the World_ written by George Harrison and that's exactly how he sings the lyric. I don't change the lyrics I use; except for perhaps merging two lyrics together; since I want to keep anything that's unique about it, as I did in the case of this story title),

MsNYC (I'm not surprised you forgot about Mari, I nearly did myself when I was writing this story. But nice to see you're glad that Julia has her. Not surprised you think that Scarsi is keeping something from Brad about the case, I figured someone might think that as time went on with him, lol. And I'm also not surprised that you're hoping the two agents see Castle and Beckett in action so that will shut them up. And happy to read you thought it was great writing as usual!),

TORONTOSUN (Great to see that you thought the first half of the chapter was good writing for Julia and Jim. And nice too you thought the second half was good writing for Rick and Kate as well!) and

vetgirlmx (Great reading that you thought it was a very nice chapter. And I almost didn't divide the chapter where I did, but I noticed that I could separate them and in the end did that, so glad I did! And nice that you enjoyed Eliza playing with Jim on her own, so Julia could be with Mari. And I'm not surprised you forgot about her too, lol, so I suppose I wasn't alone in that. But yeah, she knows that Julia's okay and with her being so worried I had to let her stay the night with Julia. I wasn't surprised you think that the school bombing was meant to be like that playground bombing in Albany. And yeah, Julia's class being there was most likely a coincidence. Though I'm not surprised at all you said it was still frightening because the school was chosen with intent of course. And you're right too, it could have gone a lot worse than it did in the end. So happy to read that you can't wait to see what happens next which you don't need to wait for anymore!).

Thanks for much for the reviews about the last chapter, loved reading them as always and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _I Dig Love_ by George Harrison, from his album _All Things Must Pass_.

Try To Live Love

"Did you finish?" Mari asked her friend, peering over at her.

"Yeah," Julia replied. She smiled and said, "Funny we left these instead of finishing them."

"Well… we were practicing," Mari replied.

"I hope they like the little dance we're gonna do," Julia said. She opened her mouth to speak again when the dogs all jumped up suddenly and then started to bark before they left. "They're here!" she said with a smile before she stood up with her sister and friend. They went out quickly to the hallway and she smiled when her parents stepped into the entry soon after before they ran together down to them.

"Hey so either you guys are happy to see us," Castle began with a smile at the girls though he was addressing the dogs. "Or you smell dinner."

"Hello girls," Beckett said when Julia and Eliza came over to her to embrace her tightly when she had her coat off. "How are you both doing?"

"Good," Eliza said firmly.

"And we're happy you're back home," Julia added quickly.

"Thank you," Beckett said before she ushered them gently with her hands over to Castle. She then turned her attention to Mari and said, "Thank you for coming over to play with them."

"I wanted to see Julia," the little girl said with a smile.

"I don't blame you," Beckett told her before she then turned to her father. She hugged him tightly and asked gently, "How is she?"

"If she wasn't wearing the gauze you'd never know she'd been hurt," Jim assured her.

Beckett nodded and then smiled as her husband was holding Eliza in a fireman's carry. "Are you all hungry?" she asked.

"Is it time for dinner?" Julia asked.

"It is," Castle said. "I'm rescuing her," he then directed to his wife.

"I can tell," Beckett said. "And yes, it is time for dinner."

"Did we ever tell you guys the time your mom had a date with a fireman?" Castle asked once they were in the kitchen and he set Eliza down.

"No," Julia said interestedly. "Wait… is this a real story or that's it?"

"It's a real story," Beckett said, watching her father set down the bag with their food on the island. "Should we start?"

"You should, I'll help him get everything ready," Castle replied.

"What are we gonna have?" Julia asked.

"British," Castle said. "Hopefully you don't mind a Sunday roast on a Monday."

Beckett smiled as the girls all said no at the same time before they turned their attention to her, begging her to tell the story. She did so, going up to the point where she and Castle had started walking back to their dates that night, finding them together.

"Did they get married?" Eliza asked.

"No," Castle said, coming over to the table with two of the first plates. "I checked on them a little bit after and they never went past that dinner."  
"How soon after that night?" Beckett asked.

"About two months, I'd wondered about them and got in touch with my interviewer at the _Ledger_ , she told me," Castle answered. "It was an interesting night since afterwards we were able to solve our case."  
"What happened?" Julia asked.

Beckett quickly told them what had happened, since they were about to eat, and she said, "So that was taken care of, but we did tell you about your daddy and I did after."

"You went to _Remy's_?" Julia guessed. When her mother nodded she smiled and said, "But it wasn't a date."  
"Not quite but close enough all things considered," Castle replied with a smile. "Now you have to be ready to eat."

"We are," Eliza said with a nod. She turned her attention to her roast and picked up a piece of the Yorkshire pudding before she glanced at her mother, watching her closely.

"What's wrong sweetie?" Beckett asked her.

With a smile Eliza said, "How is our little sister?"

"She's fine," Beckett said, reaching down and touching her abdomen.

"Did she kick a lot?" Julia asked.

"Not really," Beckett replied as the baby hadn't done so except when she and Castle had gone into Brad's office to read the note and had arrived at the British restaurant for their dinner.

"How come?" Julia said.

"Oh… I'm not sure to be honest," Beckett told them. "She might be a little tired today or I've been working too much to notice her moving around."

"It's not a bad thing, we have been busy… to an extent," Castle said.

"Anything wrong with the case?" Jim asked.

"It's these FBI agents that are working on the case with us," Castle said first.

"They're not very happy we're there I'm sure you were able to tell," Beckett told them. "That's why we're here sooner than we normally would have been. There were names we should have helped them look through and they didn't want us there."

"That's mean," Mari said a little shyly.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "That's how it is, and we're not police now." She then looked at her husband, telling him with her expression not to mention that he had never been one himself.

"Will you work tomorrow?" Eliza asked.

"We will but I have no idea when we'll go," Castle replied. "But you guys do need to go to school still."

"You can play with the doggies!" Eliza suggested enthusiastically.

"Well we could spend time with them," Beckett said as her husband was looking at her. "We'll see."

It took a little more time before they were all finished eating and once they were Castle and Jim ushered Beckett with the girls and dogs over to the family room while they would clean up.

"Mommy?" Julia asked her mother when she paused in the doorway.

"Hold on," Beckett said before turning around and going back to the two men. "Rick," she called to him.

"What?" Castle said as he turned around to her. "Something wrong?"

"No, we forgot to get the dogs' things," Beckett reminded him.

"Oh… that's right we did," Castle began. He then said, "We're almost done; as soon as we are we'll take them okay?"

"Alright, Dad-" Beckett started to say as she looked over at him.

Shaking his head Jim said, "I'll watch the other four while you're gone."

"Thank you," Beckett replied. She turned to look at the girls and explained, "We need to get their things for them to stay with us so let's get ready so we don't lose any time playing." She wasn't surprised when the girls cheered eagerly, and she followed them over to the foyer where they began to get their things and the dogs' before Castle and her father were joining them.

"We won't take too long," Castle then told his father in law once he had his coat in hand. "Since we don't need food for them."

"Can you feed them once we leave?" Beckett asked, nodding to the rest of the dogs.

"Of course, you don't want to wait and feed them all together though?" Jim asked.

"We should wait," Castle told his wife.

"Alright, you're right they do need to know to do that together," Beckett agreed after thinking about that for a moment. "We'll be back." She then walked with Castle behind their daughters and Mari into the garage where they got the dogs inside and then the girls. She took the keys from him and said, "I'll let you drive for the case."

"Oh, thanks," Castle said before he smiled.

Beckett did so back to him before she went around the driver's seat, taking them to the pet store they frequented which was in the same shopping center as their market.

"Ooh, you're gonna get pretty collars Max, Molly," Eliza said eagerly as she walked next to the dogs as her parents were holding their leashes.

"What ones can we get?" Julia asked them.

"It's up to you," Beckett answered. "But you two need to agree on what you pick."

"And we're going to that first so let's wait until we get there before we choose," Castle added.

The girls nodded before they walked together to the aisle where they knew the collars where. They paused for a moment before Eliza and Mari looked at Julia and with a soft laugh the girl then spoke.

"Macca's collar is light blue," she began. "And then Rita's is red for Spain, JoJo we got dark blue plaid and Rosie that pink and white plaid."

"Do we get another pattern," Eliza said. "I think we should."

"Well, I liked this one," Julia said slowly, going over to the ones she was talking about.

"Argyle?" Castle said.

"You don't like it?" Julia asked.

"Oh no, we just didn't know which one you'd pick," Beckett assured her.

"It's a nice pattern," Castle added. "Which colors?"

"Well… this is nice," Julia told them, showing her first choice.

"For Max?" Eliza asked, taking the collar of two shades of green in the pattern. When her sister nodded she smiled and went to the Setter, letting him smell at it before she said with a giggle, "He likes it."

"And this one for Molly," Julia said, smiling as she could tell that her sister liked it. That pattern was a blue and brown and she was relieved when Molly pawed at it gently. "Do you like it?" she asked her little sister.

"Yeah, this is good," Eliza replied.

"I don't have to pick," Mari said quickly when her friend looked at her.

"No, I just wondered if you liked them," Julia explained.

"Oh, I do, they're really pretty," Mari assured her. She then walked with them over to a machine at the end of the aisle and asked, "What shape are you gonna get?"

"I like this one for Max," Eliza said, pointing to a dog tag shaped like a bone.

"I guess that's the one we use for the boys," Castle commented with a smile at his wife. "And the guitar pick for the girls?"

"Yep," the girls said together as Mari was smiling at them.

"Help me with this Julia," Beckett said, starting the process that would give them the tags. She let her oldest type out their names before she quickly put the information for the back of the tag, hearing Eliza speaking to Mari soon after she'd started.

"They're Beckett-Castle too," the little girl said.

"I saw, they are part of your family," Mari replied as she nodded.

"Okay so once we get home and they eat we'll gift them their collars," Castle said when he had the plastic baggies the tags were in in his pocket since his wife had paid for them already. "Now we need to grab their bowls and last their beds."

"Not last Daddy," Julia reminded him.

"Their toys!" Eliza said eagerly.

"Oh right, good thing you guys are here," Castle told them with a smile before they went to the next aisle. Picking out the bowls was easy, since they were just metallic silver ones they used for all their dogs, before they went to the beds at the end of one aisle.

"This one is good for Max," Eliza told Beckett.

"Okay," Beckett said with a smile. "And this one for Molly."

"Yep, it matches her collar," Julia said with a soft laugh as the beds had an argyle pattern around the outside. "Now the toys?" she asked hopefully once the beds were in the shopping cart they had.

"Now the toys," Beckett agreed before she took Julia and Mari's hands and walked with them two aisles down to where the dog toys were. There she allowed them to go ahead of her and Castle, since they could choose on their own. She went to her husband, slipping her arm through his as they stopped and watched their daughters and Mari, silent before he cleared his throat to speak.

"Should we have told them how many toys they could get exactly?" Castle asked his wife.

"Julia knows already," Beckett replied easily. She knew he was looking at her and she smiled slightly before she said, "I told her."

"Oh," Castle said in understanding. "How many?"  
"Two, that was more her though," Beckett said with a slight smile. "She insisted since we missed their birthdays on the twentieth," she added. "And that she learned from you."

"And you," Castle was quick to point out.

Beckett rolled her eyes, trying not to smile, before Eliza was coming back to them with two toys in her arms. "Who are they for?" she asked with a smile.

"Max," Eliza replied, holding up one to her father and the other to her mother.

"Squirrels seem to be recurring for them," Castle said in amusement as one of the toys was that.

"Have you ever met a dog that didn't like them?" Beckett asked, putting the toy she held; a giraffe; into the basket.

"No but you realize that they'll get another one for Molly," Castle told her.

"Oh, I knew that already," Beckett said. "I'd be surprised if they find another type of animal…" she began before she trailed off as Julia and Mari were walking back to them with toys as well.

"What did you pick?" Castle asked.

"A squirrel too 'cause they're kinda twins," Julia replied. "And this," she told them as she showed them a stuffed lion.

"Okay, I think that's it?" Castle said, wording that in a question to his wife.

"It is, we need to go before it gets too late for Eliza," Beckett answered.

"But-" the little girl tried to say.

"You need to go to bed eventually," Beckett told her firmly. "Especially because you do have school tomorrow."

Eliza pouted but was distracted when her sister took her and asked if she wanted to go look at the pets in the cages across from them. "Can we Mommy?" she asked.

"Go ahead," Castle said first. "But stay together."

"And when we finish we need to go," Beckett added.

"We will," all three girls said together.

When they were standing in front of some reptiles in view of her friends' parents Mari said, "How come you don't have any other pets?"

"You mean besides our fish?" Julia asked.

"Yeah," Mari said.

Shaking her head Julia said, "Mommy says if we got something that could almost look like a rat it's too close to a rat."  
"Did all your dogs kill a rat?" Mari asked.

"Yep," Eliza said, having been listening to them as she looked at a chameleon, enchanted by its eyes moving in opposite directions.

"Except for our new dogs," Julia commented.

"Yeah except for them," Eliza replied.

"And they were outside your house, right?" Mari asked.

"We don't have rats in our house," Julia replied. "They got them on walks before. But not all the time."

"Or else we have to call the Pied Piper," Eliza commented before she went over to the hamsters near them.

Julia looked at her friend and smiled with her before they made their way over the hamsters and guinea pigs until they reached the birds. "We could get a bird, but Mommy doesn't want the noise," she began. "Or the mess but that one they both think."  
"Oh… I guess just dogs," Mari said. She thought of something then and said, "What about a cat?"

"Grandpapa is allergic," Julia replied. "Isn't your dad?"

"And Mommy," Mari replied. "I'm not but I have Lily and Michelle so I'm happy."

"Us too, with ours," Eliza said with a smile at them.

"Girls," Beckett called from where she and her husband had finished paying for Max and Molly's things. She smiled when they walked up to them and she said, "Anything cute?"

"Everything!" Eliza said eagerly.

"Did you expect anything different?" Castle asked his wife.

"That's usually a hint to them to say if there was anything new," Beckett replied.

"Mommy," Eliza said, tugging on her hand as they walked through the parking lot. "I want a chameleon."

"I'm not surprised, I don't think we can get one sweetie," Beckett said gently. "I don't know if the dogs would be alright with it." When the little girl breathed out hard she smiled and said, "Sorry sweetie, I think we'll stick with dogs."

"And they do love you and you do have your fish," Castle said as they'd reached the car and he started to load the trunk while Beckett was helping the three and the dogs into the back seat.

"She's seen that same chameleon before," she told her husband once she had closed the door.

"Maybe she's decided, she wants it," Castle said. When his wife just looked at him he shrugged and then told her, "And that's also a guess, we should go."  
"Oh now you're saying," Beckett told him jokingly. But she went around the car and sat down in the passenger seat before glancing back at the girls who were trying their best to lean over and pet the dogs sitting in front of them. As they headed home she would look back every so often and she smiled slightly before telling her husband, " _I get the feeling we'll be watching them play with them before she's in bed_."

" _That came to you just now_?" Castle asked, using Irish as well.

Beckett looked at him from the corner of her eye before she turned her attention ahead of them and then said, " _You'll join them_?"

" _What about you_?" Castle said, looking at her.

Slightly raising her hand Beckett said reassuringly, " _I'm fine. I'd just like a second to sit before we turn our attention to_ Julia _and_ Mari."

" _Your back_?" Castle said knowingly.

Sighing, as she wasn't surprised he'd been able to figure that out, Beckett said, " _It was bothering me in the store_."

" _Kicking_?" Castle asked after he'd looked to her and saw her hand was on her abdomen.

" _She is_ ," Beckett said, gently rubbing her hand over the curve on the right side. " _Swimming too…. Or gymnastics_."

Castle laughed slightly and said, " _Any number of athletics_." They had reached the house and he quickly opened the gate before glancing back himself at the girls. " _Cad atá á dhéanamh agat_?" he asked them.

"Huh?" Julia asked as he'd still used Irish.

"Sorry," Castle said quickly before his wife touched his arm to bring his attention to the fact that the gate was open. He drove down the driveway and told the girls in English, "You guys were very quiet I was asking what're you doing?"

"Nothing," Julia said first.

"We wanted to hear you speak," Mari said. "I never hear it anywhere else."

"Well I hope that was entertaining," Beckett said before she stepped out when the garage door was closed behind them.

"Are you okay?" Julia asked her mother once she'd gotten out of the car.

"Yes, why?" Beckett said, startled.

"Did you understand what we were saying?" Castle then asked as he set Eliza on his hip.

"No but I could tell," Julia replied.

"You know that is a fantastic quality to have as a writer," Castle said before he went back to the car. "Forgot their stuff," he called, opening the trunk.

"Go inside and tell your grandpapa we're back," Beckett said to the girls. She was surprised when Julia stayed behind, and she said, "I'm fine sweetie, it's just my back again," before she went to her husband to take one of the dog beds for him.

"You're not gonna have another baby, right?" Julia asked her.

"I won't," Beckett said reassuringly. "But it's nothing to worry about, this happened before and I'll deal with it."

"But the baby isn't even all the way grown yet," Julia replied.

"Listen to what your mom said," Castle told her. "She went through this when she was pregnant with your sister I'm sure you remember; and with you too. She knows what to do."

"And you do too," Julia said to him.

"He does," Beckett said with a smile. She then turned her attention to the doorway where her father was, and she told him, "It's not heavy," as she could tell he was eyeing the dog bed. "What do you guys want to do now?" she said to the girls.

"Play with the dogs," Julia and Eliza said at the same time.

"We thought so," Beckett said first, smiling.

"But before we get to that," Castle continued. "We need to get their new collars on them."

"You should see them Grandpapa," Eliza said as they went fully into the house.

"Go ahead love, I'll feed them," Castle said as he had hung back from the others and she'd turned to him.

"I'll help, there's six now," Beckett replied.

"Isn't that my job?" Julia asked them as she'd walked back seeing they hadn't followed.

"Alright, we'll feed them together but when your sister turns five she needs to help you," Castle replied.

"Why couldn't she help now?" Julia asked her.

"I'm giving her a couple months before she starts," Castle said as he measured out the first of two cups for her. He got the second and they walked together to the kitchen where the bowls were.

"Let me wash Max and Molly's bowls really quick," Beckett said then as she recalled they needed to be. She grabbed them before doing so at the sink swiftly before she dried them and set them next to the other eight. She filled two with water and watched her husband and their oldest bring the next two cups of food. By the time they set down Max and Molly's food her father, Eliza and Mari had joined them, and she said, "We'll need a third cup."

"Definitely," Castle said. "That took way too long."

"Why not get six in total?" Jim suggested. "That way you can carry three each."

"We can teach them to do that," Beckett said when her husband glanced at her. "Or get a box for them to carry them all together."

"Then it's settled," Castle replied. "Let's get their collars ready and their toys too." He led the way over to the family room where the bags were, and he handed the girls the collars so they could show their grandfather. While they were doing that he reached over for his wife and led her to the couch, making her sit down as they watched their daughters and Mari with Jim.

"Not now Rick," Beckett told him softly.

"I know," Castle assured her. "I just want you to sit."

Beckett nodded, as a way of saying thanks, before she leaned back with both her hands on her stomach for a moment as she looked at the others.

"They're very nice," Jim was assuring his granddaughters. "But why don't you let your dad put the tags on?"

"Here," Castle said, holding his hand out for them. He put the tags on the collars they went with and said with a smile, "They're ready, now we just need to wait for them to finish up dinner."

As soon as he'd said that Eliza was going to her mother and she cuddled against her side, reaching over to place her hand on her stomach. "Oh, Mommy she kicked!" she said happily.

"She's a little busy tonight," Beckett said with a soft laugh.

"Was she kicking a lot before?" Julia asked as she went over to them.

"She was, but she calmed down once we got back," Beckett replied. "Not anymore of course."

"I guess not," Castle said, unable to help smiling. "And here they come," he commented, hearing the nails hitting the floor in the distance.

Though she wanted to see which dogs were coming Julia instead put her hand on her mother's abdomen before Beckett moved it around to where the baby was. She smiled when she kicked, and she then looked over at her friend who was standing near her and told her, "Come and feel."

"Okay," Mari said, having wanted to but never having asked as she was too shy. As she approached her friend's mother she paused, realizing that Julia had told her to feel but not Beckett. "I-" she started to say as she began to back away.

"Come here Mari," Beckett told her with a smile. "It's alright if you feel the baby, your mother did that. With Eliza too."

"Oh," the little girl replied before she let Beckett place her hand on her stomach. She smiled as the baby gave a light tap and she said, "Thank you, it's funny… will the baby be friends with my sister too?"

"Maybe, probably," Castle said. He heard the last of the dogs coming in; JoJo, Molly and Rita; and said, "Girls do you want to put on the collars?"

"I do," Julia said eagerly. She took the one for Max and went over to him, closing the collar around his neck. She smiled widely and said, "Now you're part of our family Max." She hugged him around his neck and then giggled as she felt a wet nose nudging her hand, knowing who it was already.

"I think he's jealous," Castle commented, smiling as Macca was nudging Julia.

"I love you too," Julia said with a giggle, going over to him to hug him. She wasn't surprised when JoJo came over and she hugged him before she said to everyone, "We need to go! It's almost time for Lizzy to go to bed."

"Go," Beckett said. She smiled when her husband glanced at her and said, "I'm really comfortable."

"I'll watch them," Jim told his daughter and son in law.

"You don't need to stay," Beckett told her husband as the three girls were taking two of the dogs' toys each.

"No but I'd like to," Castle told her. When she smiled at him he wrapped his arm around her and sat as close to her as he could. He laid his hand against her stomach and when she opened her mouth to speak told her, "I know she stopped kicking, but I don't mind."  
Beckett smiled, and she leaned her head on his shoulder as they listened to the sound of the three girls running around together with the dogs. The doorway was behind them and she said, "Let's go watch them, I don't like being here."

"Let me take one of the armchairs over for you," Castle told her.

"Alright," Beckett said with a smile as she knew she wouldn't be able to tell him he didn't need to. She got up and then followed him over to the hallway, sitting down on the chair as soon as he'd taken her hand, and watched with him while Julia was throwing the giraffe toy for Max.

"Are you okay?" the girl asked, going over to her mother.

"I'm fine, I didn't want to miss watching you play with them though," Beckett said. "Are you having fun?" she asked as she pulled Julia closer so she could hug her.

"Yep," the girl said with a wide smile.

"Do you and Mari want to do that after your sister goes to bed?" Beckett asked her.

"Nah, we'll do something else," Julia replied. She gave her mother another quick hug and rushed over to Macca to take his toy before she began to throw it.

Castle, holding his wife's hand after their oldest had gone to throw the toys again, watched with her as their daughters and Mari played with the six dogs before she was standing up. "It's time?" he asked her.

"It is," Beckett said as Eliza nearly froze and turned to them. "Sorry sweetie but you got the chance to play for a while."

"Say good-" Castle began to say.

"I'm going upstairs," Jim told them.

"To bed?" Beckett asked him.

"I'd like to get some rest," her father replied with a nod. "But I will be reading for a bit."

"Of course," Beckett said with a smile before they made their way over to the stairs and then went up before they got to Eliza's room.

"Sweet dreams honey," Jim was telling his youngest granddaughter after he'd picked her up. He kissed her cheek and then said, "I love you."

"Love you Grandpapa, will you have breakfast with us?" Eliza asked him.

"Oh of course," Jim assured her. He smiled and then said, "I'll see you tomorrow." He set her back down after they'd exchanged a kiss and then went over to Julia, hugging her as she did the same to him. He leaned over and kissed her telling her, "I love you Julia and I'll see you tomorrow."

"I love you too Grandpapa," the girl told him with a smile. "Sweet dreams too."

"Thank you," Jim said, sharing a quick kiss with her after. He then gave Mari a hug and wished her a good night before he embraced his daughter tightly. "Get some rest Katie," he said to her seriously.

"I know Dad, I will," Beckett told him with a smile. She watched him shake her husband's hand and then leave to walk down the hall to his room as they said goodnight to him. Once he was inside she turned to the others and said, "We better hurry or she'll be way too late."

Eliza gave a heavy sigh before she smiled widely at her mother who looked at her. "Hi Mommy," she said, waving as her father was carrying her. She then changed into her pajamas on her bed with her mother's help; her sister and Mari changing in Julia's room; and she said, "Molly is going to sleep here with me, right?"

"We said she would," Castle commented.

"Good," Eliza said with a smile before she yawned widely.

"I think you wouldn't have been able to stay up sweetheart," Castle said as he took her into her bathroom so she could brush her teeth.

"I know," Eliza sighed. "But I like to stay awake."

"You will a little longer when you turn five," Beckett said. When Eliza looked over at her with wide eyes she smiled and said, "Another five minutes."

"We can't let you suddenly stay up as late as your sister, she's older than you," Castle added.

After she had dried off her mouth Eliza said, "When the baby is born she has to go to sleep early huh?"

"At first she'll be sleeping whenever she wants," Beckett explained as they went out into the bedroom where the three girl dogs were waiting on the bed. She smiled at Julia and Mari standing next to the bed with the boy dogs next to them and then said, "So you'll be going to bed later than her. Say goodnight to Eliza you two."

Going over first Mari hugged Eliza quickly and said, "Night, we'll see you at breakfast."

"Yeah, night Mari it was fun to play," Eliza said, yawning widely. She then hugged her sister when she'd come over to her and said, "Love you Jules."

"Love you Lizzy, night," Julia said with a smile as her sister was already leaning against her. She stepped aside after her father had picked up Eliza and whispered to her mother hurriedly, "We'll go downstairs."

"We'll see you down there," Beckett told them before she stepped closer to the bed to watch her husband laying their youngest down. There was no surprise to her that Eliza was fast asleep already and she waited for him to press a kiss to their daughter's forehead before she took his place. She quickly tucked in the little girl and then murmured she loved her; as Castle had done; before they left the room.

"Where are they?" he asked.

"They went downstairs," Beckett said. "You want to see what they're going to do?"

"Of course, I thought they'd want to play with the dogs more," Castle said. They were heading down the stairs and he said as he squeezed her hand, "Interesting day."

"Yeah, it was," Beckett replied. "But it's not over yet." When her husband squeezed her hand a little harder she smiled before they walked together over to the family room where they saw the two were laying with their cheeks against the dogs' sides. "Are you two tired?" she asked them with a smile.

"No, we just like doing this," Julia answered first before she and Mari got up. "I told her about _Mystery Science Theater_ ," she told her parents as they went over to where they were sitting on the couch.

"You want to watch something with them?" Castle asked. When the two nodded he glanced at his wife, watching her get her phone out to text Rebecca. "We have to check with your parents first of course Mari," he told her.

"I know," the little girl said with a smile.

"It's alright," Beckett said once her friend had sent her a reply. "The episode I thought of is a good one."

"Which one?" Julia asked interestedly.

"You'll find out right now," Castle told them with a smile as he stood up to put the movie in the player.

Beckett gathered the girls over to her while he was doing that, and she brought out two blankets, one for the two to share and the other for her and Castle. Once he was back with them they leaned back and watched as the episode began, wrapped up in the blanket with him before Mari suddenly spoke to ask them all a question as the theme song was still playing.

"Are the robots real ones?" the little girl said.

"Puppets," Julia answered before her parents could. "That would be cool if they were real."

"I don't think it would work out as well," Beckett said.

"It's still fun," Julia told her friend. She smiled when Mari nodded, and she then watched with her as Mike and the robots exchanged gifts before they went into the theater for the movie. She was really glad when her friend laughed as the movie was about Christmas and Santa delivering gifts though he only seemed to go to Mexico. As what usually happened when they watched episodes of the show her parents stopped before it ended. She sighed and told Mari, "We always finish it later."

"You can finish it tomorrow morning," Beckett said as she and Castle stood up.

"Really?" Julia asked eagerly.

"It would only be fair," Castle told her. "Since Mari's going to be here still and that way we won't need to make you wait."

"Cool," Julia said.

"Thanks, I wanna see how it ends," Mari said while they went up the stairs. "I think Lupita will get a doll from Santa."

"Me too, and Pitch isn't gonna stop Christmas," Julia added. She then frowned and said, "Or whatever he was trying to do."

"Yeah," Mari said with a soft laugh as they went into her room.

"Oh, Mommy do I need to sleep with these?" Julia asked her mother, holding up her arms.

"No, let me sit down and see how your cuts are," Beckett said, going over to the bed before she then took Julia's right arm to begin.

Castle looked on with Mari as soon the girl's arms were uncovered, and he went to sit on the other side of her, kissing her forehead.

"It's okay," Julia told them quickly as she wasn't surprised at their reactions. She looked at her cuts and said, "They don't look so bad."

"No," Beckett said quickly. She then said to her husband, "Get me some alcohol and ointment?"

"Sure," Castle said before he saw that Mari was following him. Not surprised she guessed that Beckett wanted to be alone with Julia, he had her go with him into his and Beckett's room before he ducked into the bathroom.

"Oh sweetie," Beckett breathed out when they were alone, gently brushing her fingers in the spaces between the cuts.

"I'm okay Mommy, really," Julia assured her with a slight smile as she felt a lot better with her mother's touch.

"Your daddy and I came here to keep you and your sister safe," Beckett said with a sigh.

"But isn't it a coincidence that my class was there?" Julia asked. "It could have been another class."

"I know," Beckett said with a heavy sigh. "But I would wish you had little involvement with our cases."

"Maybe it's gonna happen anyway?" Julia suggested. She smiled slightly when her mother looked at her and she told her, "You're helping here and it's a little town…"

"It's more than one town or hamlet," Beckett corrected her with a smile when her daughter looked at her questioningly. "But you're right, it's a small area. Still."

Julia couldn't help but smile as that was all her mother could say since her father and Mari were coming back inside. She held out her arm to her mother, watching her gently clean each cut and trying not to hiss too much when the cotton ball touched them. Finally, she was rubbing the ointment and while her mother did that she said, "Can I wear the bandages tomorrow? I don't want everyone looking at my cuts."

"Of course, just remind me," Beckett said easily before she moved over to her other arm. After she had finished she said, "Do you want to write in your diary?"

"Can I?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Of course," Castle said. "You have time. We'll be back I'm guessing love?" he then directed to his wife.

"Yes, but you have time," Beckett replied as she stood up. "Like he said."

Watching them go Mari said with a smile, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I wish she didn't have to clean them but that way they get better faster," Julia said with a sigh. "So… is it okay if I write in my diary?"

"Yep, I brought mine," Mari said.

Julia smiled and then turned to go to her desk before she got everything she needed out. She wanted to look over at her friend but decided to allow her the privacy she wanted too before she began to write on her blank page.

 _January 27th, 2020,_

 _Today was a really weird day and I hope I have enough time to write everything! Oh, and I should say that Mari is here, writing in her diary on my bed._

 _Anyway, it happened today in class when we got to go to the library to hear a story read by Mrs. Merton. It was a lot of fun and a really nice story but before we could ask questions she left to get some water. And then when I was talking to Peter and Dawn I heard the spirit that Eliza sees; Alfred; and he told me to get away from the windows. I looked over; duh; and saw a box and I don't know how I knew it was a bomb but I just did and then I screamed for everyone to get out of the room. But I wasn't fast enough 'cause it went off and then the glass broke._

 _All of us are okay, just some cuts and I have them all over my arms, but they don't really hurt. But it was so scary, I thought of a gate and that way my mom didn't know I was hurt at all. But that scared her so is it a good thing I did that? I'm gonna do it again 'cause I don't want her to have any nightmares tonight. Even if I do she needs to be okay for the baby and just because too._

 _I didn't have to stay for long after Mommy and Daddy came to get me, but they had to go back to work_

 _Oh my gosh I'm so dumb, I forgot that when they brought me home I found out we have two new doggies! Max and Molly and they're sooo cute! Max is gonna stay with me and Molly with Lizzy but just until the baby is born 'cause they're her dogs. And then Mari came over, she was really scared for me_

Looking back at her friend quickly Julia smiled before she turned back to her diary and then began to write, starting up another paragraph.

 _It was really nice that she was, but I hate I didn't think about her at all. But her parents let her stay and she's spending the night now, so she'll see I'm okay. Mommy took off my bandages and she was really scared by my cuts, but I'll tell her again they're okay._

 _I guess the last thing I have left to say is that I really hope no one else gets hurt. Mommy and Daddy said it's a bomber, but I just hope they can find them soon._

 _Oh, I better go, Mari is finished and is asking if I am too. I wanna play with her just a little bit more so bye, I'll try to write tomorrow!_

"What can we do now?" Mari asked once her friend was on the bed with her after they'd put their diaries away.

"I dunno," Julia said. She became thoughtful and then said, "Maybe we should wait and see how much time we have left." When Mari nodded she smiled and was going to speak when her friend was suddenly taking her hand and looking at her arm closely. "I wasn't lying," she told her quickly.

"I know, just looking at them," Mari said. She then squeezed Julia's hand tightly and was about to speak when she heard footsteps down the hall.

When Mari let her go quickly Julia smiled and said, "Let's go to bed early."

Shaking her head Mari looked over with her as Castle and Beckett came inside and she said, "Do we need to go to bed now?"

"Oh no, you still have time to do something," Castle said first.

"Any idea what?" Beckett asked the two. She wasn't surprised when they looked at each other and she smiled before she suggested, "What about a card game?"

"How about chess?" Julia asked. She looked over at Mari and told her friend, "You can play with my mom or dad," as she got up to get the board she had. When Mari nodded she hugged her tightly and then went over to the closet where her chess board was on the shelves in there.

"Have you told your parents you've played with us a few times?" Beckett asked Mari before Julia came back to them.

"Yeah but Daddy doesn't know how to play," the little girl explained. She smiled and said, "Mommy wants to teach him, but he didn't say when. Maybe he's afraid he's gonna lose."

"He will," Castle told her in explanation as he took the chess board from Julia. "That's how you learn of course but should he ever learn I'll want to play him too."

"Then he'll be really scared," Mari said, watching the pieces being set up by both Castle and Beckett. "He thinks you're really good," she explained to them with a smile.

"So's Mommy," Julia said.

"Why don't we just play this game now?" Beckett said, smiling over at her daughter. She watched as Castle made the first move, explaining it to both girls, before she went next and they continued in that manner until they were finishing the game. "Go ahead and move your queen up to his sweetie," she told Julia.

"Checkmate," the girl said with a smile.

"Nice," Castle said. "Did you see how they did that?" he asked Mari.

"Yeah, you didn't?" the little girl replied.

Laughing slightly Castle said, "I couldn't stop it but if I hadn't used my last pawn I probably would have."

"Now we have to go to bed," Julia said in a slightly complaining tone.

"Yes, it's time," Beckett said as she'd been keeping an eye on her watch. She waited for her husband to put the game away before she waited for him to say goodnight to the two first.

"Get some sleep you guys," Castle told them with a smile as he hugged Mari with one arm. "And we'll see you for breakfast."

"And finishing that show," Mari told him.

"Exactly," Castle said before he was hugging Julia tightly. "Goodnight sweetheart, I love you."

"Love you Daddy," Julia told him. "Sweet dreams."

"You too," Castle told her firmly before he leaned over and shared a kiss with her.

"Goodnight Mari," Beckett told the little girl then, hugging her. "Thank you for coming over and checking on Julia."

"Thank you?" Mari couldn't help asking.

"For wanting to check on her," Beckett explained.

"I needed to," Mari said earnestly. She then grew a little shy and said, "Night Kate."

Julia watched her friend climb up onto the bed before she quickly followed her, and she remained sitting up, turning to her mother with a smile. When she didn't come over to them she said, "What-"

"You should say goodnight to the dogs first," Beckett told her.

"Oh," Julia said, moving onto her knees with Mari. She smiled at her friend before she hugged Macca first and did the same to JoJo and Max, saying goodnight to them quickly as she knew they were likely tired. When they'd finished they went back to the other end of the bed and she said, "I love you Mommy."

"I love you too sweetie, sweet dreams okay?" Beckett asked her.

"I will, night Mommy," Julia said before hugging her mother as tightly as she could. After letting her go she then shared a kiss with her before lying down with Mari as well. When her mother tucked them in she smiled and said, "Night."

"Night you two," Castle said, peering down at them.

Julia watched them go before she listened for their footsteps to go down the hall. When she knew they were in their room she looked over at Mari who she could just barely make out and said, "I'm afraid to go to sleep."

"That your mom is gonna have a nightmare about you?" Mari asked her.

"No, that I'll have a bad one," Julia said.

Wrapping her arms around her Mari was going to speak when the dogs suddenly began to come up to them and she laughed softly as she and Julia pressed close as they flanked the two of them, Macca and JoJo to Julia's right. "I was gonna say that I'm here and so are the dogs. Don't be scared."

Nodding Julia hugged her tightly before she closed her eyes, letting herself finally fall asleep. As she was doing so she was imagining herself in front of the house, touching the gate that was locked firmly.

Opening her eyes some time later Mari looked over at Julia and gasped when she heard her whimpering in fear. "Julia, Julia wake up," she whispered, looking over at the doorway. She felt Max behind her nudging her, but she ignored him as she started to shake her friend firmly since she was still asleep.

Finally, Julia's eyes flew open and it took her a moment to look above her at Mari, sighing as she realized that what she'd seen was just a nightmare. "I was sleeping," she murmured, her voice still a little husky.

"Yeah but you're okay now," Mari said, lying down quickly so she could hug her tightly.

"My parents…" Julia began to say before she trailed off.

Listening with her Mari eventually said, "I don't think they're gonna come. Did you think of the gate?"

"Yeah," Julia said, relaxing once she realized that her friend was right. She sighed and said, "What time is it?"

"I think… it's almost twelve," Mari replied after she looked over at the alarm clock on Julia's nightstand. "What did you see?" she then asked cautiously.

Petting Macca and JoJo, Julia then said, "I was back in the room and the glass was breaking but this time there was fire too."

Mari hugged her tightly when she felt her shuddering and she pressed her face against the side of her friend's head. "It was just a nightmare, it's over now," she said reassuringly.

"It is but it was so scary," Julia said with a heavy sigh. She then looked at her friend and said with a smile, "Thanks."

"Welcome, I'm glad our parents let me stay the night," Mari replied. When Julia nodded she smiled slightly and then sighed herself before she said, "We better go back to sleep."

"I'm not tired now," Julia said.

"Then… should I tell you a story?" Mari asked her.

Julia smiled and then said, "Why don't I tell you one?"

"But I don't need to fall… oh wait, I do too," Mari started to say before she quickly stopped. "I guess so. About what though?"

"Um… when my mom and I were alone together one time," Julia said.

"When?" Mari asked.

Julia was smiling again and said, "It was before Daddy took us here for the first time. I don't remember when more than that. We went to see a movie; I don't remember which one it was either; and we went back home, and I was a little bad."

"A little?" Mari asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Julia giggled softly before she began to tell her friend what had happened, remembering that vividly.


	13. Try To Live Love (Part 2)

_"Julia," Beckett said as she watched her daughter skipping around the living room with her Stitch doll in hand. She wasn't surprised when she didn't stop and tried not to smile as she called her name again a little more sternly._

 _Though she didn't want to stop Julia did so and looked at her mother with a big grin on her face. "Wanna play Mommy?" she asked her._

 _"I don't think so sweetie," Beckett replied._

 _"Do I have to go to bed?" Julia said in concern._

 _"No," Beckett said firmly. "But you should calm down or else you're not going to have time for anything but that."_

 _"Do you want to play?" Julia said hopefully._

 _"Of course, come here," Beckett said before she went over to the couch. She sat down and then took her daughter into her embrace once she'd climbed up with her. She pressed her lips to her forehead and said, "Want to play cards?"_

 _"Can I?" Julia asked as she'd seen her mother doing that with Castle before._

 _"Of course," Beckett replied. "I'll teach you the first game your grandmama and grandpapa taught me. Go Fish."_

 _"Fishies," Julia giggled. "I like those Mommy."_

 _"I know," Beckett replied, knowing she was thinking of their recent trip to the NY Aquarium. "But this one is just for saying."_

 _"Kay," Julia said, getting off the couch and walking after her mother. They got the deck of cards and were just turning back to the couch when the doorbell rang. She couldn't help her short scream and ran to cling to her mother's leg tightly._

 _"Shh it's alright sweetie," Beckett told her gently, running her hand over the back of her head. "Go and sit down on the couch I think I know who it is."_

 _"Castle?" Julia whispered. When her mother nodded she couldn't help smiling briefly at the way her mother smiled at his name. "Kay," she said softly, going to the couch. She sat on it and held on tightly to her Stitch doll while she watched her mother going to the door and checking outside before she unlocked and opened it quickly._

 _"Hey," Castle said as he stepped in. The second he was inside he was wrapping his arm around his girlfriend and pulling her close, kissing her hard._

 _Though Beckett wanted to protest she couldn't stop him and she instead responded as much as she could before she gently pulled away. "You didn't even let me close the door," she told him with a smile while she did so._

 _"I haven't seen you in a week," Castle reminded her. He looked over to the living room and smiling said, "Hey Julia."_

 _"Hi," the little girl said softly, waving as well._

 _"How are you both doing?" Castle asked his girlfriend, looking back at her._

 _"Let's go inside, I feel a little weird standing here at the door," Beckett replied. She wasn't surprised when he kissed her again but was relieved when he kept it quick as she didn't want to ignore her daughter for too long. They went together inside and she watched him set a bottle of wine on the counter in the kitchen while she went over to the couch where Julia was waiting, her doll held up in front of her mouth._

 _"Can we still play?" the little girl asked in a whisper._

 _"Of course," Beckett said reassuringly. "Do you mind if Castle plays with us?"_

 _Sitting down carefully he watched as Julia looked at him before nodding her head once which made him ask, "What are we playing?"_

 _"Go Fish," Beckett explained after she'd pressed a kiss to her daughter's temple._

 _"Have you taught her yet?" Castle asked her._

 _"Not until now," Beckett replied with a smile. She then began to shuffle before she said, "You know your numbers sweetie."_

 _"Yes Mommy," Julia said quickly, having set down Stitch as she watched her mother shuffle._

 _"What you want to do is get four of the same card," Beckett told her with a smile._

 _"How?" Julia asked._

 _"You ask either me or Castle if we have the number or name," Beckett explained. "And if we do we have to give them to you. Do you still want to play?"_

 _"Yeah," Julia said eagerly. She took the cards that her mother dealt out to her and smiled when she looked at the numbers. She then glanced up at Castle and Beckett, seeing they were looking at her and she asked, "What?"_

 _"You can go first," Becket said gently._

 _"I don't think she quite understands," Castle told her as the little girl looked down at her cards._

 _"Oh, let me help you this time," Beckett replied, looking at her daughter's cards._

 _Castle watched as his girlfriend whispered into her daughter's ear and he couldn't help smiling before Julia was speaking to him._

 _"Do you have any tens?" the little girl asked in an almost whisper._

 _"Go fish," Castle replied with a smile._

 _After Julia had picked up a card Beckett asked her boyfriend if he had any jacks and they proceeded to play. Though Julia was still shy she was able to ask Castle for cards and when they had finished he won but didn't really make that big a deal out of it, instead talking to her._

 _"How did you like it?" Castle asked._

 _"Yeah," Julia said shyly, bringing her Stitch doll up to her mouth._

 _"Well," Castle then said to his girlfriend. "Since you're taking your time with those cards I'm going to guess that she doesn't have to go to bed yet."_

 _"No, what would you like to do sweetie?" Beckett said as she let Castle take the deck to put it away._

 _"Can I play with my blocks?" Julia asked when the two looked at her again._

 _"Legos?" Castle asked interestedly._

 _"Just a basic set," Beckett replied. "No themed kits."_

 _"What's that?" Julia asked._

 _"Things like Star Wars or Minecraft…" Castle began before he saw the way his girlfriend was rolling her eyes. "What?" he asked._

 _"She has no idea what those are," Beckett answered as she got up to get the box that the Legos were in._

 _"Well you have to tell her about Star Wars at least," Castle said._

 _"Maybe when she's older," Beckett replied as she was looking for the box among Julia's toys._

 _"It's a really good movie," Castle told the little girl who smiled a little in response._

 _"Okay," Beckett said once she set the box on the coffee table, watching her daughter fall to her knees on the floor immediately. "Don't throw them all over the place."_

 _"I won't," Julia said easily._

 _"What is she going to make?" Castle asked his girlfriend._

 _"I have no idea, I never tell her to make something specific," Beckett said with a smile before she moved to sit on the floor with Julia. She looked across the table to her boyfriend as he sat on the floor as well and they watched the little girl together beginning to put the blocks together._

 _"Are you going to tell us what you're doing?" Castle asked the little girl after a while._

 _Shaking her head Julia concentrated on what she was making until she stopped grabbing blocks and studied it closely. "Do you like it?" she asked her mother with a wide smile._

 _"Tell us about it," Beckett said with a smile._

 _"This is a house," Julia said proudly._

 _Beckett held her hand up to her boyfriend to keep him from speaking and she said, "Like ours right now?"_

 _"Yeah," Julia replied with a rapid nod._

 _"Then you did a great job," Castle commented._

 _"Thanks," Julia said shyly._

 _"He's right, you needed to make it tall and you did," Beckett replied. "Now what would you like to do?"_

 _"Break it," Julia told her._

 _"That's what I was going to say," Castle commented with a smile._

 _"Okay, go ahead," Beckett replied._

 _"How-" Castle started to say, going to ask how she did it exactly. But he cut himself off when he saw that Julia was breaking it apart in the middle before she dropped one half onto the table. "Interesting method," he commented._

 _"It's not too messy," Beckett said though she was at that moment catching one block with her hand before it could fall off the table._

 _"Doesn't look like it," Castle said before he helped her clean off the blocks until finally it was clear. "That's it?" he asked them._

 _"No but I do need to get her ready for bed," Beckett said. When she saw her daughter was frowning at her she smiled and said, "Sorry sweetie but you need to take a bath tonight."_

 _"Can I play?" Julia asked hopefully._

 _"For a little," Beckett said._

 _"Goodnight Julia," Castle told the little girl with a smile as he stood up with her and Beckett._

 _"Night," the little girl said shyly. She let her mother take her over to her room to get her pajamas before she asked, "Is Castle gonna go?"_

 _"No, he'll stay the night," Beckett replied. "Does that bother you?" she asked, checking on her as they walked over to her bedroom._

 _"No," Julia said softly._

 _"Are you sure?" Beckett asked in slight concern._

 _"Yeah, I know you want to talk to him," Julia replied._

 _"Okay but if it does bother you then you can tell me," Beckett told her seriously. When her daughter nodded in the same manner she leaned down and gently kissed the top of her head before they went into her bathroom and she began to draw a bath._

 _"Mommy?" Julia asked while she watched her._

 _"Yes sweetie?" Beckett asked, turning to her._

 _"Does Castle have nightmares," Julia said._

 _"I think," Beckett replied as she turned off the water quickly. "Why?"_

 _"He goes to sleep in your bed," Julia explained._

 _"That's not because he has nightmares," Beckett said with a slight smile, unable to help it at what her daughter was saying. "It's because we're dating each other."_

 _"And you love him?" Julia whispered._

 _"And I love him," Beckett replied with a slight smile._

 _"Does he love you too?" Julia asked._

 _"He does," Beckett assured her before she placed her into the tub as she'd been getting her undressed. "Now you need to focus on your bath."_

 _Julia watched her mother bring over the showerhead and then closed her eyes before tilting her head back. She smiled as she felt the water running over her hair and then sighed before she said, "Are you gonna go to bed?"_

 _"Not just yet," Beckett replied as she knew her daughter meant after she herself was in bed. "But we'll probably go to bed soon."_

 _"Do you have to work?" Julia asked as her mother was rinsing out her hair._

 _"It's a Sunday so we'll stay in," Beckett replied. "Maybe Castle will make us some pancakes."_

 _"Kay," Julia said quickly._

 _"I'm not surprised you're okay with that," Beckett said laughingly. "But I am too," she added as she rinsed the girl's hair of her conditioner. Once she'd done that she then had Julia help her in getting her washed off before she moved to sit and watch her daughter start to play._

 _For a while Julia was playing with one of her bath toys; an orca; before she stopped and looked at her mother saying, "Is Castle gonna stay with us all the time?"_

 _"Tomorrow?" Beckett asked. When her daughter nodded, pushing around her toy she said, "That's up to you. He can stay for breakfast and then go."_

 _Julia bit at her lower lip a few times before she said, "No, he can stay but what do we do with him?"_

 _"Let's wait," Beckett said simply. "And we'll decide with him. And of course now you need to go to bed we'll get to decide much sooner."_

 _Though she wanted to protest needing to get out Julia knew her mother wasn't going to change her mind about that, so she stood up and smiled at her before Beckett took her out. Once she was dry and dressed she said, "I want to play."_

 _"I know but hopefully you'll let us all do something together first," Beckett told her._

 _"Museums?" Julia suggested as they were walking into her bedroom by then._

 _"How about just one?" Beckett said._

 _"Kay, which one?" Julia said eagerly while her mother was getting her toothbrush ready._

 _"I think it's time for you to see some art," Beckett replied thoughtfully._

 _"Where?" Julia asked, turning her head away from her toothbrush that her mother was trying to get into her mouth._

 _"The Metropolitan Museum of Art," Castle said. When his girlfriend and Julia looked at him quickly he said, "Sorry I heard your discussion as you passed by and I couldn't help listening. Are you taking her to the Met?"_

 _"I think I should," Beckett said with a slight smile at him. She turned her attention back to her daughter, urging her to continue brushing her teeth. When she had she said to her boyfriend, "You're welcome to join us. What about Alexis?"_

 _"She's going to be going out," Castle replied. "Spending the day with friends."_

 _"Let her play Mommy," Julia said, looking up at her after she'd rinsed out her mouth._

 _"Alright," Beckett said. "I'll tuck her in right now," she told him._

 _"Right, goodnight Julia. It'll be a lot of fun tomorrow," Castle told the little girl._

 _"Night," Julia said again with a slight smile. When he was gone and she was on her bed she said, "Is the museum fun?"_

 _"You remember when I showed you different paintings," Beckett replied as she pulled the sheet over her daughter's lap. "Now you can see some up close."_

 _"I want to," Julia said firmly._

 _"And we will tomorrow," Beckett told her reassuringly. She had Julia lay down and once she was she leaned over and shared a kiss with her before she tucked her in fully. "Sweet dreams Julia, I love you," she told her daughter seriously._

 _"Love you Mommy," the little girl replied with a slight smile. She watched her mother leave; after she'd pressed a kiss to her forehead; and she lay looking up at the ceiling though she couldn't really see it. After a while she decided to get up and see what her mother was doing, trying to be as quiet as possible as she padded in her bare feet over to the doorway to the living room. She kept out of sight as she looked at the couch but realized her mother wasn't there. She turned the best she could to see the kitchen where her mother and Castle were sitting at the counter. She watched with a slight smile when he leaned over to Beckett and as they started to kiss she hurried back to her bed, knowing that her mother would be happy the next day since he was going to stay with them. And as she laid down and soon after fell asleep she thought she could be too, just wanting to be with her mother and eager to get to see the art with her._

* * *

"You went to the museum the next day?" Mari asked as her friend stopped talking after the point where she'd fallen asleep.

"Yep and it was fun, Daddy told me a lot of stuff about the art," Julia said with a smile at the memory. "And then we had pizza for lunch which was really nice," she added.

"Were you still scared of him?" Mari then asked.

"Yeah, I feel bad but… I didn't know him, and I was afraid of boys… men," Julia replied with a sigh.

"Are you anymore?" Mari asked her.

"No, I just don't want to have to kiss a boy," Julia said before she made a face. She giggled when Mari did the same and said, "But it was a lot of fun even though I was shy with Daddy. And at least I'm not anymore."

Mari nodded in agreement before she saw that Julia was beginning to yawn and she said with a smile, "We better go to sleep."

"Yeah," Julia said with a sigh. "Thanks for helping me."

"You're welcome," Mari replied. "Night Julia."

"Night Mari, sweet dreams," the girl told her.

"You too," the little girl replied.

Julia smiled and then closed her eyes, ready to fall asleep that time as she had the feeling she wouldn't have any nightmares with her friend and dogs close; knowing Mari would help her again if she needed it. She soon nodded off, thinking of her memory of her parents and her at the museum, before she fell asleep fully and was peacefully finding repose as Mari next to her was doing the same.

* * *

Leaning back after she and Castle had parted from their kiss Beckett said, "You're sure you don't want to move to the bed?"

"Why-" Castle started to ask before he quickly cut himself off. "You said you wanted to do this."

"I do, I'm just messing with your head," Beckett replied easily.

"That reminds me, turn around," Castle told her.

"And assume the position?" Beckett asked. When her husband paused she smiled and said, "Sorry it was a good opening."

"I guess so," Castle said, slightly laughingly. He expected his wife to turn around and then shrug off her kimono so he could reach her back, so when she untied it in front of him he swallowed a little hard before he spoke. "You eventually have to turn around," he said, not sure how he wasn't stumbling over some of those words.

"Eventually," Beckett replied easily before she carefully slipped her arms out of the sleeves and the robe gathered around her waist. She and her husband had changed into their kimonos before meeting each other on the floor in front of the fire and she knew that he; like her; was naked underneath it. She wanted to see if she was absolutely correct but calmed herself, turning around to look away from him. " _Conas tá tú_?" she asked, using Irish to ask how he was.

" _I gá duit_ ," Castle said very simply, letting her know that he needed her. Before she could react to that he was running his hands over her back, having quickly gotten some of her rose crème on them as they'd been talking. He sighed as she groaned a little and said, "I need to do this more don't I?"

"Most likely," Beckett told him before she grunted a little in reaction to his touch. She was quiet then as she just felt what he was doing to her, closing her eyes tightly in pleasure as he worked out the soreness from her shoulders to the small of her back.

When he was finished Castle couldn't help himself and he leaned over, kissing at her neck once he'd pushed her hair out of the way. Her shudder of pleasure spurred him to continue until he couldn't take it anymore and he made her turn around. Her robe caught on something and once she was facing him he was looking at her naked body fully. "Kate…" he breathed out before he slipped his arms around her under the kimono. They were kissing deeply but shortly after they'd started he felt her grabbing for the front of his robe.

Not breaking their connection Beckett managed to get the front of his kimono open and once she had she allowed him to curl around her tongue with his own. When she moved back to breathe she told him with a smile, "You didn't think I was going to keep this one sided did you?"

"No but still," Castle said with a shrug. He didn't give his wife a chance to reply before he was leaning over and kissing her again. He kept that a little shorter before he was moving away from her and gently having her lay down on the pile of pillows that she had behind her. The second she was set he began to kiss around her neck before he reached up to place his hand on her abdomen.

"She's not kicking," Beckett said quickly as he looked down at her.

"I know, is she moving?" Castle asked. When his wife shook her head no he nodded and said, "Okay," before he was kissing her on the lips.

Reaching up Beckett let her hand slide to his hair, letting her fingers slip through it so she could gently scratch his scalp with her nails. She felt him jerk slightly against her and since their bodies were pressed together she could more easily feel the extent of his arousal. "What will you do now?" she asked when he pulled away from her, breathing heavily against her shoulder.

"I have some ideas," Castle said once he felt he could speak.

Beckett smiled briefly before she told him, "Do you want me above you for that?"

Shaking his head Castle said, "I can still do that this way but you're not going to be able to see me."

Shrugging Beckett told him, "We did this same thing before and I didn't complain then." She gasped when her husband slipped his hand between her legs and she told him, "You didn't realize I had any self-control?" as she watched him closely while he felt the extent of her arousal.

"I did but not this much… How long have you been like this?" Castle asked her, watching her.

With another smile Beckett said, "For a while. I can't help it."

"You don't mind it either," Castle said slowly as he was just barely brushing his fingertips against her clit. When she gasped a second time he couldn't help himself and he was leaning over, kissing her as hard as he possibly could. He felt her soon after grabbing him by his head and he groaned as they tilted their heads back and forth in an effort to help themselves taste each other. Parting from her he was panting heavily through slightly swollen lips and he said, "We can just move to the bed."

"No," Beckett said firmly. She tried not to smile when he looked at her with a startled expression on his face and told him, "I want to take things a little more slowly."

"And yet you still want to come," Castle replied. When she merely smirked at him he shuddered inwardly; not wanting her to see that; and then moved to kiss her tenderly on the lips as he proceeded with his original idea with her full approval.

Beckett wasn't sure for a moment if she was breathing as she watched her husband going from her neck to her breasts. But she realized she was as she let out a slight cry of pleasure when his lips began to brush over her right breast. He did that a few times before he moved to her other and she was holding onto him tightly, watching him trail his lips over that mound. She wanted to tell him to stop teasing her but the only thing that was coming out of her mouth was a heavy moan of pleasure and she couldn't stop it.

Castle, trying to ignore his throbbing arousal in reaction to the sounds his wife was making, moved back to her other breast where he began to trail his lips over her skin there, letting his tongue stick out slightly so he could trail it around her. After he'd gone back around to her nipple he pulled away, gently blowing against the moist flesh he'd left behind, feeling his wife's nails digging into his shoulders. That made him hurry to do the same thing to her other breast before he was back again at her right breast where he captured her nipple easily with his lips. He didn't waste time, immediately beginning to suckle at her as she arched her back against him in response.

Feeling the warmth that her husband's stimulation was providing her quickly Beckett wasn't sure how long she could handle it. Luckily he was moving to her other breast, making sure he showed the same attention there. When he moved away she breathed, "I can't…"

Leaning over Castle gently kissed her but didn't linger for long as he didn't want to draw things out any longer. Fortunately; while he was kissing his way over her abdomen to move down; she didn't try to stop him. When he had reached the apex of her legs he very gently brushed his lips against her clit, feeling and seeing her tremble in reaction. He gulped nearly as his mouth seemed to instantly water and he then focused his attention on what he suddenly wanted more than anything in that moment.

Beckett was relieved she had the blankets underneath them to grasp onto as when her husband suddenly started to rub his tongue flat against her swollen nub she was nearly orgasming. She didn't know how she held onto herself, but she just barely managed it, trying not to rock against her husband's head too hard though it was a struggle. It became even more of one when he reached up to her with his hand, sliding his first two fingers up and down her folds very slowly. "Oh… Rick I'm going to come!" she moaned.

At first Castle was startled by how quickly that had gone but he realized it was one of those times when her hormones took over completely. He couldn't complain but as he realized they were still on the floor he moved away and said, "Do you want to start now?"

"Please," Beckett gasped. She tried to push herself up to stand as her husband was doing but she couldn't quite do it, relieved when he picked her up. "I almost forgot about you," she said to him slightly teasingly as he laid her on the bed. "Wait," she said as she sat up quickly and pulled off her kimono. She tossed it on her nightstand before her husband was coming back to her, naked and with his robe on his nightstand. She only gave that a moment's thought before she was reaching for him, pulling him with her as they lay back together and their lips met immediately in a hungry, frantic kiss.

Castle was so busy rolling his tongue around his wife's that he nearly jumped and broke them apart at the feel of her hand wrapping around his erection gently. He just managed not to and he pulled away saying, "How-"

"Just like this," Beckett was quick to interrupt him. She kissed him again but kept that very tender and brief before slowly drawing him towards her. She sighed deeply in pleasure as he sank within her very slowly and since their kiss had ended with that she murmured his name before their hips were touching. "Fuck me lover," she told him, something in her suddenly urging her to tell him that.

"Whatever you want my love," Castle said, breathing a little hard at the feel of her very tight around him. She was incredibly slick, and he worried for a moment that he was going to end up slipping out of her the first time he moved. Luckily he didn't, and he could soon focus all his attention on working up his pace as he'd begun slowly. He heard Beckett's gasps of joy in response to him and he couldn't blame her, with him picking up speed the friction between them was building up as well and it was highly stimulating throughout his entire body. He was well up on his hands to keep his weight off her stomach and he watched his wife as he thrust at that angle. It was obvious that she was feeling a great deal of pleasure, so he didn't change for the moment before he realized her legs were lifting and wrapping around his leg, making him grunt in pleasure.

"Oh god… Rick already…" Beckett breathed as she reached up to hold onto his arms.

"I know," Castle grunted slightly as he tried to thrust down a little harder on her to reach her clit. He couldn't quite make it, but he could tell by the sound of her moans that it didn't matter, and he was relieved he could still affect her so greatly. He leaned down and kissed her hard when she pushed herself up on her elbows, losing his rhythm of varying his thrusts as he just rammed into her repeatedly to both their delight.

"Don't," Beckett said quickly and with a heavy breath as he was pushing himself above her. "I know you didn't mean that and I don't care. But you need to stop." When he shook his head, she was about to tell him that she was too close to the edge when he leaned over so he could whisper a little closely to her ear. He told her, in a husky tone, " _I'll make you come twice my love_ ," in Irish she couldn't stop herself. She arched her back and brought her hips up a little more before his next thrust within her was making her break completely. She tried not to scream in joy as her orgasm was strong, but she got the point across to her husband about how much ecstasy she was feeling while she was chanting his name. She ran her nails over his arms and it was that that clued her into the fact he wasn't moving.

When his wife had stopped finally and slowly opened her eyes to look up at him Castle said with a slight smile, "I don't need to-"

"Get off me," Beckett told him shortly.

"What?" Castle asked.

"I hate you being inside me but not coming too," Beckett said simply. "So you're going to do that now."

"What if I don't want to?" Castle replied though he'd already gotten off her as she'd demanded.

Beckett didn't say anything; merely let a smirk slide across her lips before she was becoming serious again while she leaned into him, kissing him deeply on the lips. She allowed him to hold onto her, not minding that, and then gently pulled away as he watched her get up with wide eyes.

"You don't have to," Castle called, forcing himself to the side of the bed so he could follow her path over to the bathroom.

"Oh, I know," Beckett said easily though she had to call out as she was inside the room. "But I don't mind," she said as she walked back out and then threw over the washcloth she'd gotten wet to him.

"If you'd done this…" Castle said as he cleaned himself off carefully.

"I don't think it matters," Beckett said in slight amusement as she got back on the bed and listened to his grunting as he touched himself. She sat on her knees, cupping her hand over her abdomen for a moment before she watched her husband get up to take his washcloth. She wanted to comment on that but decided she didn't need to since he was soon after coming back to her. The second he was back on the bed she wrapped her arms around him tightly and kissed him, moaning as he was cupping her left breast with his hand. She quickly stopped him and said, "Lay down, I don't want to wait anymore."

Unable to reply verbally Castle nodded and then did as she asked before he watched her moving down to take his erection into her mouth. He hissed heavily at the sensation as she soon after began to bob her head up and down around him. He closed his eyes tightly at first before he was opening them and making himself stare at her. She was moving quickly, and he knew she was impatient as he wasn't going to last very long with her doing that. "Ah… fuck Kate…" Castle groaned as a warning before he was suddenly finding his release. He clutched at the bed; instead of her; as the waves of pleasure were intense and he was just trying to handle them before he could pass out. He didn't, and he was coming back to himself with the realization that she was next to him. "What do I do now?" he breathed out.

Beckett brushed her lips against his gently before she then pulled away and studied him before she said, "I think a change in position is necessary."

"Okay," Castle said quickly.

"Pervert," Beckett shot back while she was getting up to straddle him. As soon as she had done so she gently handled him, being meticulous with her fingers until she could feel he was ready which didn't take long. She smiled as he was begging her to start and she leaned over as he had sat up to kiss him. She wasn't surprised when he held onto her hard then and she wrapped her arms around him tightly before they were working together to get him back inside of her. They didn't part so it took a lot of touching; which they both enjoyed; until they were finally coupled once more.

"How fast is this going to be?" Castle asked, grunting at the end as his wife was clenching her muscles around him.

"Fast, I need to come," Beckett replied, not caring about her voice coming out in a groan. She then proceeded to move, rocking her body against her husband at first before she then began to speed up, bouncing on him finally as she couldn't wait anymore. She hadn't been unaffected by pleasuring him, so she was further along than he was. Fortunately she could feel her husband was soon following her and they were kissing rapidly before their hands were all over each other.

"This is…" Castle started to say after a little more time and he realized that neither of them was going to last. "I'm fucking you again after this," he nearly hissed to her, feeling her thrusts on him faltering.

"You need to… Oh god Rick I'm going to come please come with me! I need to feel you… so deep inside me!" Beckett managed to say before she was crying out and then grasping at him hard as the ecstasy was far too much for her to handle. She cried out his name repeatedly and it was only broken when she felt him beginning to climax as well. They were clutching one another close and she was sure she was going to orgasm a third time that night as her breasts were rubbing against him. But her joy soon tapered off and she was left to feel the way her sex throbbed while her husband gave her a few more rough thrusts and then fell back on the bed.

"I'm not done just…" Castle said when he had recovered enough to speak.

"Spent?" Beckett asked with a smile as she'd had a little more time to do so. When he groaned out a yes, she smiled and then carefully got off him before she lay against his side, pressing close against him as he wrapped his arm around her. She knew they needed to wait which made her a little impatient but as he ran his fingers through her hair and then down her back she decided it wasn't too bad. After a little bit longer, she felt more than ready and was about to move and speak when her husband beat her to it swiftly.

"I really hope you're ready," Castle told his wife seriously.

"I am," Beckett replied with a slight smile. She drew him to her and said, "Hurry."

Castle nodded, as her tone was a little strained, and he then sank into her smoothly before he was fully inside her. " _I love you_ ," he told her seriously once they were entirely coupled.

" _I love you too_ ," Beckett replied with a smile before she drew him down to her for a kiss before they began to make love roughly once more.

* * *

His eyes shooting open Castle found his breathing was rough and he slowly sat up before he looked over at his wife. She was fast asleep, and he was relieved to see that as he hadn't wanted to wake her up with his nightmare. He sighed under his breath and then turned, getting off the bed carefully so he wouldn't wake her up. He went over to the bathroom and his sink, running some water before he splashed his face with it. Drying off his face he stood up straight again and saw that he wife was to his left. "Kate," he said in surprise, looking over at her. "What's wrong?"

"You're asking me that?" Beckett asked simply as she stepped closer to him. "What did you see?"

At first Castle was going to say that he had just woken up but looking into her eyes he knew that wasn't going to really fly. So he said, "We better get back to the bed," he told her, reaching over and taking her hand before they walked back to the bedroom. He looked over at her and said, "You're swimming in that."

"Don't deflect," Beckett said with a brief smile as she was in fact swimming in the fabric of his robe. She took it off and set it aside before they got onto the mattress and she watched her husband pulling the covers over them both before he glanced at her and she gave him a questioning look before he breathed out and began to speak.

"I was… when we were investigating the protest bombing," Castle began. "And after I heard you say you remembered everything at Montgomery's funeral I started to have the same nightmare where you were among the victims. It was very fast but horrifying."

"Why did it start then?" Beckett asked, placing her hand on her stomach.

"I think just the idea that you had rejected me was my subconscious taunting me, telling me that because you didn't want me I couldn't…" Castle started to say before he trailed off. "Look," he told her seriously. "I know you don't like hearing this, but I feel the need to protect you." He shook his head before his wife could say anything and told her, "If something happened to you or the baby, our kids I-"

"Nothing will happen Rick," Beckett told him seriously, reaching over and cupping his cheek. "You know I want the baby to be safe as much as you. And I don't mind knowing you like to protect those you love." She leaned over and gently brushed her lips against his before she told him, "You were still trying to do that when I wasn't too happy you were around."

"I know," Castle said simply before she was wrapping her arms around his neck. He held her close and said, "Sorry about waking you up."

"It's alright and you didn't wake me up," Beckett replied. She kissed him gently and said, "Do you feel better now?"

"Slightly," Castle replied, leaning into her as she was caressing the back of his head and neck slowly. He looked at her and said, "We better lay down."

Beckett nodded but wasn't surprised when her husband had her lay down before he quickly started to kiss at her abdomen. She laughed softly when the baby started to kick shortly after that and she said, "She might have heard us talking."

"I guess so," Castle replied. He pressed a kiss right where the baby was kicking and told it, "I love you little one, I said it before but wanted to tell you again. We'll go to sleep right now though, I promise."

"She won't care," Beckett told him with a smile before she pulled him up so he could lay with her. She pressed tightly to his side and asked him, "What is it?" as she could sense that he was thinking something over.

"Tell me something," Castle replied.

"About me and Patrick?" Beckett asked.

"No, you and Julia," Castle said quickly.

A small smile spread across Beckett's face and she then thought for a moment and said, "This was a little bit after she started school back in the city."

"Am I there?" Castle asked.

"Yes, because it was the weekend," Beckett said. She felt him move slightly and she told him, "To remind you."

"Actually, go ahead," Castle said after thinking that over for a moment. "I think I remember which weekend you're talking about, but I could use a refresher of course."

"Okay," Beckett said slightly laughingly. She shared a kiss with her husband and once she had her cheek pressed to his shoulder she began with the morning which had been the two of them getting ready in her apartment bedroom.

* * *

 _"I was thinking of making us some pancakes; special pancakes," Castle said as he walked over to his girlfriend in front of the mirror._

 _"How special?" Beckett asked with a smile at his reflection._

 _"Some chocolate chips," Castle replied. "Unless that's boring?"_

 _"Oh no, Julia enjoys those," Beckett said before he was wrapping his arms around her._

 _"You're serious about staying in all day?" Castle asked her._

 _Beckett smiled and said, "I am, do you not want to?"_

 _"Oh no, I love the idea but why do you? I figure you'd like to go out into the park and run around with her or something," Castle told her._

 _About to answer Beckett had to pause as her boyfriend leaned over, kissing around her shoulder though she was dressed. Finally she said, "It's fun to do this every once in a while, especially for Julia."_

 _"Focus everything on her?" Castle asked her._

 _"Exactly," Beckett said. She turned around in his embrace and wrapped her arms about him before she kissed him, feeling him responding rapidly. She knew they could have easily kept that up for some time, but they were jolted apart by a knock on her closed door. "I guess she couldn't wait," she said with a smile. "By the way, today was my idea not hers."_

 _"I'm ready to start," Castle replied easily before he followed her._

 _"Hi Mommy!" Julia said eagerly when she had opened the door. After her mother had picked her up and they had embraced she looked at Castle and said a little shyly, "Morning Castle."_

 _"Good morning," he replied with a smile. "Listen I'm going to make some pancakes today, want to help me out?"_

 _"Yeah," Julia replied eagerly. She let her mother transfer her over to him and when they were outside in the kitchen she asked, "What are we gonna do today?"_

 _"We'll stay in," Beckett answered as she sat at the island to watch them. "All day and play with you," she continued._

 _"Kay," Julia said, watching Castle mixing the batter for the pancakes. "What do we play?"_

 _"Whatever you want I'm guessing," Castle said._

 _"He's right," Beckett told her with a smile. "But hopefully you'll pick something we all can do."_

 _"I wanna paint," Julia said first and firmly. "And then games."_

 _"Which ones?" Castle asked while he was pouring out the first pancake._

 _"Board games?" Beckett suggested._

 _"Yep," Julia replied, nodding her head rapidly._

 _"That should be fun… anything else?" Castle asked while he flipped the pancake._

 _"Um… no," Julia said._

 _"That's it?" Beckett asked in amusement._

 _"Yeah," Julia said before she held out the plate they were going to use to hold the finished pancakes. She watched Castle set the first one on there and then said, "What about lunch? And dinner?"_

 _"We're going to order in," Beckett told her. "Remember we did that before?"_

 _"Oh…" Julia said before she wriggled a little where she was sitting in her excitement._

 _"I guess it was fun," Castle said to his girlfriend._

 _"It was," Beckett said. She watched as he made the rest of the pancakes for them and once they were set aside to keep warm she got her daughter and they set the table while Castle quickly made some sausages before getting coffee for them. "Are we ready?" she asked him while Julia was pulling her over to the table._

 _"We are," Castle said, going to them and setting her cup in front of her. He was lucky to set his mug of coffee down a second before she was taking his arm and pulling him down enough so they could kiss, knowing it was for the heart he'd made in the foam. He regretfully made it a brief one and then said, "Let's eat."_

 _Sitting down with her mother and Castle, Julia focused fully on her pancakes for a while as the two were talking but she finally looked up at them when she wasn't so hungry anymore. They were discussing when her mother would need to go back to work and was glad it was still Saturday, telling them that when they paused._

 _"I have to agree with her," Castle told his girlfriend with a smile. "Nice to have a day off."_

 _"Two though you might not have a case at all," Beckett pointed out to him. "At least not on Monday."_

 _"I guess not," Castle replied. He then said, "I'm all done, are you ready to get to play now?" directing it to Julia. When she nodded he smiled at her before he stood up and took his plate and mug over to the sink. He looked back at the table, watching as the little girl carefully brought hers over. "Nice, you did a good job," he told her._

 _"Thank you," Julia said a little bashfully. "What do I do now?" she asked as her mother came over to them with her things._

 _"You can go over to wait for us on the couch," Beckett told her. She watched her daughter rush over to it, climbing up on it before she looked out the window. "So," she said, turning back to her boyfriend. "You'll be okay just doing this?" she asked him._

 _"If I wasn't then I'd just walk out the door," Castle said easily, setting aside the plate he'd just washed. "I'm eager to see how today will go."_

 _"Good," Beckett replied easily before she started to help him. Together they were able to finish much quicker and they were soon walking together over to Julia who turned to them quickly, a wide smile on her face._

* * *

"That was a fun day once we were finished with breakfast," Castle commented.

"It was," Beckett replied, reaching up and gently running her fingers through his hair. "But you sound tired Rick."

"I am," Castle said with a sigh. When she didn't say anything else he told her, "I know Julia was the one at the school, but I still thought of you."  
"It's alright," Beckett said quickly. "I know you were still worried about her. And Eliza."

"And Eliza, even though she was here with your dad," Castle said. He sighed and then said, "Remind me about the rest of the day?"

"Not now love," Beckett said, turning her head so she could kiss his jaw gently. "We need to sleep."

Running his hand up and down her back Castle then said, "Before that I want you to promise me something."

"Does it involve our genitals?" Beckett asked. When her husband moved his head to look down at her she smiled and said, "Just seeing if you were paying attention."

"I am, and it does," Castle replied. When she laughed softly he paused before he leaned down enough so he could kiss her. They were very gentle and when he'd pulled away he said with a smile, "No I want us to at the very least make love."

"Where?" Beckett asked with a smile and in amusement.

"Anywhere, I don't really care," Castle replied. "Just…"

"I know, and we will," Beckett replied, leaning over. "But… maybe we should keep it to pleasuring. Of some kind," she said quickly.

"Alright, that would be nice too," Castle said as he thought that over before he smiled. "Thank you."

"Don't think I haven't been affected myself," Beckett informed him.

"Have you had a nightmare?" Castle asked her.

"No," Beckett said slowly.

"I think she's been blocking you again," Castle commented.

Sighing Beckett said, "I'll have to talk to her tomorrow. For now, let's sleep." She turned enough so she could kiss him and once they'd parted she said, "I want you all safe."

"We will be," Castle said reassuringly as he pressed his hand to her abdomen. They shared another kiss before they parted, and he said, "We appreciate you want that."

"And we appreciate you wanting that too," Beckett replied with a smile.

"I love you Kate," Castle told her.

"I love you too Rick," Beckett said. They kissed again before she settled down against his side and then closed her eyes needing to get some sleep desperately. Luckily she was soon nodding off, hoping her husband would as well and sleep peacefully with her the rest of the night.

Castle lay in the dark a little more, just holding his wife to him, as he let himself fall asleep eventually. When he finally did so he knew he'd be alright, with her warmth against him and her abdomen pressed against his skin, and he would dream of her far more pleasantly as he had the next morning to look forward to as he knew she was too.


	14. Compounding My Worst Fears

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: It was great to receive the feedback I did for the last chapter so let me go ahead and get started on my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (I'm really happy to read that you thought it was good writing with everyone concerned about Beckett. And of course, I'm pleased you thought it was very good writing for the love scene at the end of the chapter. But I'm really glad that you always like the flashbacks I write too!),

Mb (Thanks for still reviewing the chapter before the last, so I want to reply to it here. I am happy of course to read that you thought that chapter was a great transition once, that was what I wanted to do with it since I wanted to show the girls after what had happened at to school. I'm not surprised that you though it would make sense Mari would be worried about Julia and needing to go over to her house as soon as possible since of course Julia is her best friend as you mentioned, and she wanted to check that she was okay. Interesting to see you see Julia and Mari at the stage in between calling their mother's mommy. But you're right, with them getting closer to 13 they would get to that point where they want to seem more grown up as you said. And that bit about daddy and mommy is interesting too, lol. Great to see that you loved how Eliza stayed with Jim while Julia and Mari were together, to play with him and keep him company. Not surprised you laughed at Julia sneaking to look at her parents' books as well as the last Nikki Heat book. And really, her reading the dedication and wanting to read more was just curiosity since she's getting older. And don't worry, I know people can get busy with both life and work so it's nice to see you replying still though there's the newer chapter. I'm not surprised you mentioned how the second half was focused on Castle and Beckett. And I laughed a bit seeing you mentioning it was them working on the case and doing their thinking when they build theory. Also, no surprise your impression of those agents is still low, and you make a good point it's not good if they're holding back on information because they don't like Castle and Beckett investigating. Great that you love Beckett is having dreams of their past life, and that you could so see them having the same memories. And not surprised you think a book from that time would be so them, I thought the same thing too! With you mentioning the bomber staging scenes for the two it's no surprised you think they're scary intelligent in how they're killing and then covering up the crime, that's what I was aiming for of course. And you're very welcome for sharing both chapters!),

Mb (Great reading that you thought the chapter was a very nice one with them together and getting back to their normal routine for the rest of the day. I was happy that you were glad that Mari was there. And yeah, with everything that happened, what could have happened, and their concern for Julia it would stand to reason that they would forget Mari, so not surprised you thought it was understandable. Nice that you're glad they have the dogs for companionship and protectors for all of them, not just the kids. Interesting to see that you're not sure how you feel about Julia blocking Beckett sensing both the bombing and the nightmare. And not surprised that you think it'll worry Beckett, but there is a reason Julia's doing that. Really pleased reading that you love how I'm able to show them working the case but also their lives too. Lol, to be honest I missed out on seeing their normal lives on the show, so I love writing that out along with the cases, have a nice balance of that. And you're welcome for sharing that first half! Nice reading that you thought the second half was wonderfully written. And great you love the flashbacks since the one in that half filled in how they became a family and how Julia came to stop being afraid of Castle. And I don't really have the idea that Julia would be affected by what her birth mother told her about men because Beckett's been raising her for a lot longer by now. I'm really happy that you thought the scenes with Castle and Beckett being sexy together and making love were beautiful moments. I do try my best with that so to see you enjoyed it that much was great! You're very welcome too for sharing the second half as well!) and

vetgirlmx (Very nice seeing you loved this chapter of course! And great you're loving when Julia tells her stories since you make a good point, interesting to see her side of the story. Really glad you liked that she was sharing it with Mari this time. Not surprised you thought it was a good thing that Mari was there to help Julia with her nightmare. Also, wasn't surprised you mentioned her parents not noticing because she was blocking her mother from sensing that. And yeah, definitely a big development with that you're right though they did know she was doing that. You may also be right about Beckett not being too happy about that. And you also make a good point about Julia being annoyed about everyone trying to protect her though yeah, she can't really blame them after what had happened of course. I'm not surprised at your comment about being glad that it the very stressful day for them was over with them getting a nice family evening. And I wasn't surprised either that you're wondering if they get another day like that tomorrow. With that I'm so happy that you want to see what happens next whatever… might happen, and now you don't need to wait to find out!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them as usual and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Tears of the World_ by George Harrison, from the original rejected track listing of his album _Somewhere in England_.

Compounding My Worst Fears

Her breathing still coming out in a heavy pant Beckett murmured to her husband, "We were supposed to pleasure each other, weren't we?"

"I think so," Castle replied before he laughed slightly. He and his wife both groaned together at the sensation of that before he said, "But that was… _foirfeacht_."

Beckett smiled, and she said, "It was," as he had called it perfection. "But now we really need a shower."

"I agree," Castle said quickly. When she laughed at him he groaned and said, "We can do the pleasuring there."

"I agree, let's go," Beckett said deliberately echoing him. She brushed her lips against his before getting off him though she regretted it immediately. As soon as they'd woken up they had begun making love though it had quickly slid into outright fucking each other as they couldn't resist it. She tried not to think about that too hard as she was focused on getting the water on while her husband came up behind her. "I was waiting for that," she told him in amusement as he was cupping her ass.

"I can't resist, one of these times you're going to have to let me turn on the water so you can do that to me," Castle replied.

Going into the shower Beckett told him, "Next time." When he rushed in with her she met him with her arms wrapping around him and they kissed as they stood together underneath the water. When the kiss ended she tilted her head back and allowed him access to her neck, moaning softly as he was going straight to her pulse that he nuzzled gently with his lips. "We don't have time," she said regretfully.

"What can we do?" Castle asked though he was trying to work out the words he wanted to say as he was trying to deal with his arousal.

"Since I led things before I think it's your turn to say," Beckett told him before they kissed. When he leaned down then and whispered into her ear she smiled slightly and then said, "Sounds great to me."

Castle did his best not to shudder and he said, "Then we should start."

"We should," Beckett replied taking his kiss as he leaned down to her to kiss her deeply. She held onto him as tightly as she could before they parted, and she then moved to begin running her fingers over his erection. She was very careful but wasn't surprised when her husband was groaning in joy, making her tilt her head up to press her lips against his jaw. While she was busy with that she nearly jumped when his fingers slipped in between her legs. She gasped as he rubbed against her clit and she said, "You-"

"I started a little… little too soon but… I'm not regretting it," Castle groaned heavily.

"Neither am I," Beckett gasped before she needed to hold onto her husband a little harder with her other arm as his fingers were slipping among her folds. "Do you want to…?" she asked him.

"No, like this is enough," Castle replied. He then sucked in a deep breath of air; difficult because of the pleasure she was giving him; but he finally asked, " _Is feidir liom a chur orthu taobh istigh_?"

"Oh god… yes," Beckett said. She parted her legs a bit more before he slipped his fingers inside of her; having asked if he could do that; and she gasped in her delight as he was quick to move them and bring his thumb up to her clit to work around it as well. She didn't know how she did it exactly, but she was able to continue to pleasure him with her hand, doing that repeatedly until she realized it was becoming too much for her.

"Let me-" Castle began as he was feeling the same as her. When she kissed him, he picked her up and leaned her against the wall to slam into her body before he thrust as hard as he could; being careful at the same time because of her abdomen. There was no surprise when that set off their orgasms nearly at the same time and they moved together though he knew she couldn't do so that much. When they'd finally stopped he was relieved he wasn't shaking as he put his wife down and then said, "We can't linger?"

"I'm afraid not," Beckett said with a slight smile. She leaned into him and brushed her lips to his before she pulled him over to the water so they could finish. She wasn't surprised when they couldn't seem to stop touching each other and intimately and she said when she turned off the water, "I get the feeling we're not going to stop."

"You or me," Castle told her in amusement.

"Probably me," Beckett said simply.

"I don't know," Castle said as he stepped out and then grabbed her towel. "I think we're even in this."

Smiling Beckett said while she watched him, "I guess so but let's see how things go."

Watching her become serious Castle said, "I was thinking the same. But we'll wait for Brad's call."

"Don't tell him we were talking about him while we were coming out of the shower," Beckett said in amusement as she held the towel closed over her since it wouldn't stay that way.

"I know but let's finish up getting ready and get to the girls," Castle said as he was finishing drying himself off and closing his towel around his waist. When she looked at him he explained, "I figured you'd want to check on Julia."

Beckett nodded and then walked with him over to their closet where they got dressed quickly. She smiled; after making sure her sweater was straight over her abdomen; when the baby kicked and said to her husband, "She's awake."

"I can tell," Castle said as he'd quickly placed his hand on her stomach before he moved it. He smiled at the taps there and he leaned over, kissing her deeply before they slowly parted and went back into the bathroom to finish getting ready.

When she finished after her husband Beckett walked out to him and said, "Should we take the dogs for a walk?"

"I don't know, why don't we wait and see how we're feeling about that when we come back?" Castle asked.

"Alright, but I do need to walk," Beckett told him, putting her hand on the doorknob. "And if we're out working on the case I don't think I'll get much chance."

"Good point," Castle replied, leaning down and gently kissing her on the lips.

Beckett responded to him quickly before they parted, and she smiled before she opened the door, going out into the hall before they could become lost in each other and lose track of time. She went over to Julia's room, watching Castle going over to their Eliza's, before she ducked inside to find the two girls still fast asleep. She didn't want to but she continued, needing to wake them up before Julia was suddenly opening her eyes and looking over at her.

"Morning Mommy," the girl said, sitting up.

Seeing her daughter still looked tired, and sounded tired, Beckett asked, "Did you have a nightmare sweetie?"

Julia was about to answer when Mari next to her sat up and she quickly told her mother, "Yeah but just one. Morning."

"Morning," Mari said with a heavy yawn. "She did but she was okay after that."

"Did you talk to her?" Beckett asked, watching Julia move the covers before the dogs jumped off and then went out of the room.

"Yeah, and then I told her a story so we could go back to sleep," Julia answered before her friend could. She shared a smile with her before they got up and she said, "We'll be okay Mommy."

"I know but you'd like me to brush your hair I'm guessing," Beckett told her.

"Oh… okay," Julia said with a smile. "Then we should get dressed," she told Mari.

Beckett sat down on the bed as she waited for the girls to get dressed in their uniforms for school that day. She recalled that Julia wanted to wrap her arms again but didn't mention it, wanting to wait a little longer before that. When they had finished they brought their brushes to her and she started with Mari since she was the guest.

"You can leave my hair alone," the little girl said. "I don't want any decorations."

"Alright," Beckett replied. She glanced at her daughter when she leaned against the bed next to her and said, "I'd like to ask you some-"

"I was thinking about the gate in the front," Julia said quickly. "Before I went to sleep the first time." When her mother sighed she quickly said, "I couldn't let you have a nightmare Mommy! What if the baby… what if the baby got hurt or something 'cause you were scared?"

Beckett stopped her internal thoughts of how she could tell her daughter not to do that; though she still had to wonder if just thinking of that would really work. Instead she said, "Then I should thank you sweetie, but I don't know if you should do that."

"I would still have a nightmare," Julia said quickly. "So when the baby is born I'll stop doing that," she added as she sat in front of her mother.

"Alright," Beckett said with a sigh. "Now we should focus on getting you three ready for school."

"Can you just braid my hair?" Julia asked her mother as by then she'd finished brushing her hair out. When she had started she asked, "How come Lizzy didn't come here?"

"I think she headed down with your daddy already," Beckett told her. Once she had finished with her daughter's hair she said, "I have bandages do you want me to wrap your arms still?"

"Yeah, I said yesterday I don't want people looking at them," Julia replied, looking at her arms. She then turned around to her mother and held out her right arm, watching her beginning to clean them. "I'll be okay Mommy," she told her.

With a slight smile on her face Beckett said, "I know, but I still don't like what happened to you of course."

"I'll be careful at school today," Julia told her.

"I don't think you need to worry but thank you for doing that," Beckett replied. "Your daddy will be happy to hear that too," she added. She then began to wrap Julia's arms before she paused when she heard a knock on the door. "Mari-"

"I can get it!" the little girl cried, rushing over to it and opening it.

"Good morning Mari," Jim told the little girl. He looked over at his daughter and saw that she was finishing with Julia's arms. "Good morning to you both," he said, going to them and kissing the top of the girl's head. "How're you?" he asked.

With a smile; since that had been directed to her; Beckett nodded and told him, "Good, we're almost ready. Have you seen Rick?"

"He and Eliza went downstairs," Jim said. "He said something about oatmeal."

"Good," Beckett said as she handed Julia her brush to take back to the bathroom. She stood up and told her father, "Any plans?"

"If there wasn't snow I would have gone to play golf," Jim began before they walked together with Julia and Mari ahead of them out of the room. "But Barry invited me over to his home for billiards."

"And lunch?" Beckett asked.

"That I wanted to talk about with you and your husband," Jim replied as they were coming to the bottom of the stairs.

"Okay," Beckett said with a slight smile before she turned her attention to Eliza as the little girl was racing down the hall to her with some of the dogs behind her.

"Morning Mommy!" the little girl cried happily. "Daddy let me help."

"Oh, he did," Beckett replied with a smile, squeezing her back with her hand. "With the oatmeal?"

"She helped me measure out," Castle said as he watched his wife walk over to them. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips before he turned his attention to Julia who was coming up to him to hug him. "How'd you sleep?" he couldn't help asking her as he didn't want to wait until he and Beckett had a moment alone to do so.

"Oh, I had a nightmare, but Mari helped me," Julia said a little flippantly. She smiled at her friend and added, "And I kept Mommy from having a nightmare."

"Thank you," Castle replied. He was tempted to tell her he'd had a nightmare as well but decided he didn't really want to explain what the dream was about or the circumstances when he'd first had it. "Set the table and then you can take your sister and Mari to finish the episode."

"Lizzy can watch it too?" Julia asked eagerly.

"Yes, but you might want to catch her up with the story," Castle said. When Julia rushed off to do that he said to his wife, "Might as well show her at some point."

"Then I'll go with them," Beckett said. "But you don't want to be there too?"

"I'm almost finished so I'll keep the oatmeal warm before I head over to see the rest," Castle replied.

Beckett nodded before she hesitated and said, "It's not a lot to cook?"

"Oh no, just some sausages and fresh juice," Castle told her not surprised she'd realized he was going to make more.

With a nod Beckett then went over to wait for Julia and Mari to finish setting the table. Before she could take them though she went to her father and murmured to him before she left and walked over to the family room with the girls and the dogs. "How was it with Molly on your bed?" she asked Eliza as she got the TV on.

"Good, they came under the covers with me," the little girl said. "And my bed was all furry."

"I guess it would be," Beckett said slightly laughingly. "Girls," she directed to Julia and Mari. "Tell Eliza about the movie up until now."

Julia nodded eagerly at the suggestion and she launched into an explanation of the show and then the movie before she said, "It's really good but we can't see all the movies so you're really lucky."

"You are, we're going to wait until you're a little bit older to watch these," Beckett replied to Eliza's questioning look. "You might not get the jokes."

"I wanna see it still Mommy," the little girl said quickly.

"Alright," Beckett replied laughingly before she sat down on the couch and pressed play. She sat back as the girls watched the rest of the movie, smiling when Eliza laughed loudly with the two at the little girl in the movie getting a life-sized doll that one of the 'robots' said wasn't a doll but a sister. After the ending segment with Mike and the bots going outside to play in the snow; though they were supposed to be in space; she said, "I think she liked it."

"Oh, I know," Castle said as he and Jim were behind her. "Though still we might want to wait for her to get a little older for the jokes."

"But there are some we can show you sweetie," Beckett told the little girl who was pouting.

"Kay," Eliza said. "Do we get to eat now?"

"Yes, or else breakfast is going to get all cold and gross," Castle said. He smiled when the three giggled and walked with his wife after them and his father in law before they reached the kitchen table where everything was set out for them to begin their breakfast.

"Oh Mari," Julia said after they'd been eating for a while. "Lizzy, we forgot to do the dance."

"Dance?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, we made up a whole dance for you to see," Julia replied. "'Cause of yesterday."

"Well I think we can see a little bit of it before we go," Beckett said. "Try and remember that dance and do it when we're all together though okay?"

"We are now," Eliza said in confusion.

Beckett smiled and then said, "When Mari's family is with us too."

"That's a good idea, I want my parents to see it too," the little girl said quickly.

"When will we?" Eliza asked.

"We'll probably have a dinner with them… soon," Castle said as he looked at his wife.

"Maybe," Beckett replied. "After the case?"

"That would work best," Castle said with a nod.

"Mommy?" Julia then said.

"Yes?" Beckett asked with a smile as the girl was so hesitant as she spoke.

"Do you miss having coffee?" Julia asked.

"To be honest," Beckett replied, since her husband father were drinking it with their meal. "I do but not so much I'm going crazy."

"Like Jack did when he got addicted to it and tried to stop?" Castle asked his wife.

Shaking her head, and smiling at the same time, Beckett said to the three girls as they looked confused, "It's from the show _Will and Grace_."

"Can I watch that?" Julia asked immediately. She knew about the show; as she'd come downstairs one night to find her parents watching it; but they'd told her she needed to be older to do so.

"Not yet," Beckett said first. "But you'll be old enough soon." She wasn't surprised when her daughter didn't look too satisfied at that answer and she said, "Maybe when you're thirteen."

Sighing Julia said, "That's not for another two years."

"I'm wondering love," Castle said. "If we showed her the pilot?"

Beckett took a moment to recall the episode before she said, "We can give it a shot, but you'll need to be older to keep on watching the show sweetie."

"Thank you," Julia said happily.

"I wish I could see the show," Mari said. She then looked confused and asked her friend in a whisper, "What's it about."

"It's about two friends, Will and Grace," Julia said. "And Will is gay." She smiled over at her mother and said, "Mommy likes it 'cause it reminds her of her and Patrick."

"If we'd kept living together in the city," Beckett said in amusement as her daughter was right. "Though he and I did watch it together. He loves the show and was ecstatic it came back."

"How far did you watch it?" Castle asked his wife.

"We stopped around the second half of the second season; when he went back," Beckett replied. "We've talked about it though now that we've reunited."

"You should watch from where you ended with him," Castle commented. When his wife just smiled and shook her head he leaned over and kissed her cheek before he got up as by then he'd finished eating.

While the adults were cleaning up Julia took her friend and sister over to the foyer and she asked them once they were there, "Is it okay here?"

"Yeah, there's a lot of room," Mari said, looking around.

"What are we gonna do?" Eliza asked then.

Walking up to the three; after her father and husband had almost literally chased her away from the kitchen; Beckett wasn't surprised when they were huddled together. She had to wonder; as she and Castle had several times before; whether Dani would join the three once she was old enough to do so. And before she reached them she placed her hand on her abdomen, wondering if the baby would too. Shaking herself of her thoughts quickly she said, "Are you going to show us?"

"We are," Julia said quickly. "Just a little. But we don't have a lot of time, do we?"

"Not too, too much," Beckett said, leaning against the wall to give them more room.

"Does your back hurt Mommy?" Eliza asked, hurrying to her and putting her hand on her abdomen.

"No, I thought this would be the best place," Beckett replied. "To be out of the way of you."

"We're here," Castle said while he and Jim were entering the foyer. "Go ahead and get started we really want to see what you have for us."

"Okay, let's start," Julia said, smiling at her sister and friend. "It's just one thing 'cause that's all we can do huh?"

"Yes," Beckett said, unable to help smiling at the way Castle and her father had looked to her.

"Ready?" Julia asked the two. When they nodded she and Mari stood on either side of Eliza and as she held out her arms to them she took the right, Mari grabbed the other and together they helped her flip around onto her feet. "There," she said.

"And where would you use that?" Jim said.

"Wait, wait," Castle said quickly. "That's all we get? Come on I want to see more, not just a lift."

"It was a flip Daddy," Julia said before she nodded to the other two. She counted; for Eliza's sake; and they did a few kicks and flicks from the Jive before they stopped with their arms around each other and looked at the three adults who were standing together.

"That was great," Castle said as he, Beckett and Jim all applauded them. "You've gotten really good at the Jive sweetheart," he told Eliza.

"Thank you, Daddy," the little girl said a bit shyly, going to him and hugging him tightly.

"You've done a great job," Beckett said as Julia came over to her. She gently cupped the back of her oldest's head and said, "You've never danced three like that have you?"

"No," Julia replied, shaking her head. "But we do that when we learn new steps."

"Your practice paid off," Jim replied.

"Mommy," Eliza said, going over to them and gently touching her hand. "Do Gram and 'lexis know about our doggies?"

"We contacted them both," Castle said, that reminding him about what he'd gotten while cleaning up. "And they contacted us. They can't talk now because Alexis is working on that profiling project for her one class and Mother is getting ready for rehearsals though how she's going to handle four different plays… I don't know."

"Will we talk to them?" Julia asked.

"We will, your gram wants to talk to us with Alexis so we'll have half screens again," Castle replied. "But that's later as soon as we get home."

"Did you tell them about me?" Julia then inquired of her mother as she was helping her with her scarf.

"We did, and they really want to see you and they're very sorry they're so busy," Beckett said as she and her husband had texted the two the evening before but had only heard from them once they'd gotten into their bedroom late that night.

Shrugging Julia said, "That's okay I know they have a lot of stuff to do. Especially 'lexis now her school year…"

"Term," Castle supplied.

"That," Julia said with a nod. "She has finals, doesn't she?"

"She will but yes she is busy," Castle agreed.

"Okay, we're ready," Beckett told them as she saw her father had finished with Eliza and Mari was ready as well. They waited for the girls to say goodbye to the dogs before they stepped out of the house and made their way over to the sidewalk. She wasn't surprised to see that Rebecca and David were in front of their house on it and she watched Mari hurry carefully to them.

"Thank you for letting her come over," Castle said first once they had reached the reunited family.

"He's right, she needed that," Beckett agreed as she smiled when Dani waved to them.

"We were glad to let Mari go but we didn't have much choice," David said.

"What he means is that we couldn't keep her home," Rebecca said while they started down the sidewalk behind the three girls. "She likely would have snuck out, so we thought it best to let her go."

"She's alright?" David asked.

"She is, she might get tired of us asking that," Beckett commented.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Rebecca said. She squeezed her friend's arm and asked her, "How're you?"

"Okay," Beckett said, not minding that since the woman he been pregnant twice herself. "Better after yesterday but we're still not done the case."

"Listen," Rebecca said quickly. "Have you talked to Brad or Lily lately?" keeping her voice down.

Shaking her head Beckett related in a whisper what she had spoken with Brad about before finishing with, "I would talk to Lily, but she can be even more stubborn than I am. If she doesn't want to talk, she won't."

"I would suggest myself," Rebecca said in a rush as they'd made it to the school by then. "But of course, if she won't talk to you…"

"They'll have to work it out themselves," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when her friend nodded, and they followed their families into the elementary school building.

"We're going to take her up," David told the others when they were at Eliza's classroom. "So we'll say goodbye now. Rick, Kate you should be called in today."

"You spoke to Brad?" Castle asked.

"I did, the FBI is still reluctant, but I said they could attempt to try without you," David replied. "So they'll call you, but I get the feeling they'll drag their heels on that."

"We expected it," Beckett said before they watched their daughters hugging. When the Fosters had left; going up the stairs; she turned to Eliza and said, "Who do you want to go with you?"

"You Mommy," Eliza replied.

"Alright," Beckett said, nodding so the little girl would hug the others goodbye.

"Have a great day at school honey," Jim told the little girl. "And I'll pick you up for lunch and we'll go out okay?"

"Kay…" Eliza said before she trailed off and then nodded over to her parents.

"You can go," Beckett said in amusement. "But you need to get through your class first."

Eliza nodded rapidly before she shared a kiss with Jim and then went to her big sister telling her, "I can't wait for recess, let's talk to Alfred okay?"

"Okay," Julia said, not surprised that her sister had whispered that last bit. "But we have to be careful."

With a last nod Eliza stepped over to her father and hugged him tightly saying, "If you go to work take care of Mommy."

"I will," Castle said in amusement. He leaned down and kissed her saying, "Pay attention and have fun; we'll see you as soon as we can."

"Kay, you too Daddy," Eliza said before she paused.

"We'll do our jobs," Castle said. When the little girl nodded he smiled at his wife who was shaking her head; smiling at the same time; and then stood up to watch the two go into the classroom.

Beckett helped Eliza with her coat before it was in her cubbyhole with her backpack and then hugged her tightly saying, "Your daddy said it of course and you know already to pay attention. So I'll just say I hope you have fun here and with your grandpapa too."

Eliza giggled softly and then said, "I will, thank you Mommy. And be careful."

"I will," Beckett said, bending over the best she could and sharing a kiss with her. She let her go over to one of the tables with the other kids before she went back outside to where they were waiting for her. "Okay, we can go." As they went to the stairs she felt Julia slipping her hand into her own and she said softly, "Will you be able to do that?"

"Maybe," the girl said, knowing her mother was talking about what her sister had said before. "Lizzy said she can do it so… I guess."

"I'm just wondering," Beckett said, not surprised at her daughter's questioning glance at her.

When they reached her classroom, Julia hugged her grandfather tightly, smiling at his promise to be there with Eliza in time for the dance class. "Thanks Grandpapa," she told him. "Have fun playing pool."

"I will," Jim said with a smile himself as she'd said the last earnestly.

Hugging her father as tightly as she could Julia told him, "I'll be careful and we're not gonna go to the library."

"We know you will be and you don't need to worry about the library," Castle told her. "But we'll still be happy when we see you once we come home."

"We always are," Beckett added.

Julia smiled widely and then said, "Thanks, bye Daddy." She went to her mother, embracing her as tightly as she could and carefully as well. "Be careful Mommy," she told her, looking up at her.

"I will be," Beckett assured her. "Now I get the chance to tell you, pay attention and have fun."

Julia laughed softly and then squeezed her mother one more time before she said, "I will, bye!"

When she had disappeared into the room Castle took his wife's arm so he could put it through his own and they walked with Jim down the stairs and then back to the house. "Since it's still early," he said when they could hear the bell for school in the distance. "I'm assuming you're not going over yet."

"No," Beckett's father replied as that was directed to him. "I may head down the beach for a walk though. And you?"

"We better stay close to the house love," Beckett told her husband. "Brad could call us at any time you know."

"Good point," Castle replied. "We'll likely… I don't know."

"You wouldn't write?" Jim asked.

"Not the best… wait a minute," Castle said, looking over at his wife.

Sighing Beckett said, as they went into the door in the fence, "We had the idea of using the dream he had of the twenties in a series."

"She did," Castle said in a rush as they made their way up to the porch. "And I told her she should write it herself."

"How could she though?" Jim asked once they were in the entry and the two were taking off their coats and outer layers.

"I've been having dreams Dad," Beckett said, saying it quickly as she knew she wouldn't be able to avoid it. "About that time period so…"

"You wouldn't write together though?" Jim asked. "It would seem very odd if you two weren't."

"Please Rick," Beckett told him immediately, not caring that she was outright begging him. "I cannot do this alone."

"I've done it alone, it's not that hard," Castle replied.

"And yet if Brad was ever going to ask me if I would work a case alone I'd tell him he was crazy and kick him on the shin," Beckett said firmly.

"Why the shin?" Castle asked in confusion.

"Best part I can reach at the moment," Beckett said.

Breathing out Castle said, "Alright but let's wait until after the case to get started on this. Also, we should figure out how we're going to work on two different series."

"We'll work something out," Beckett said. She then said to her father; who'd been watching them with a slight smile on his face; "I guess we'll have to think of something else to do."

"One thing before we do that," Castle said quickly. "How about we agree on one thing for those books should they ever be published." When his wife looked at him quizzically he said, "Your name goes first." He saw that she was about to protest so he quickly said, "It was your idea and it's alphabetical."

"All nice and neat," Beckett said with a sigh as she didn't think their publisher or agent would agree to that. "No, you were the writing before me, so we keep to the order we have now."

When they finally left the entry with the dogs Jim said, "I'll go ahead out now, let me know when you're finished. And about lunch, if we can meet you…"

"That would be awesome," Castle said to his wife as they made their way over to the door to the yard.

"He's right it would be," Beckett said with a smile. "And we'll contact you; you just need to be ready."

"We will be," Jim said. He embraced his daughter tightly and said, "They're all saying it but it's because we love you and the baby; be careful Katie."

"Thank you, Dad. I will," Beckett replied. She let him go and watched him walk out before she reached over to her husband to take his hand before he was suddenly pulling her over to the family room. "What?" she asked with a smile.

"No remember what we were talking about last night before we went back to sleep?" Castle asked her.

"Do you want me to tell you about what we saw?" Beckett asked in amusement. "You do know that you were there right?"

"Oh fine, then why don't we read the paper?" Castle said.

"Go grab it," Beckett said a smile on her face again.

Before he could go to where it was in the kitchen Castle leaned over and kissed her tenderly on the lips before something pushed them to deepen it at almost the same time. He held her tightly as she was doing the same to him and they tilted their heads back and forth repeatedly until finally he tore himself away from her. "Couldn't resist," he told her.

"I know, go before we go any further and Brad calls us while we're _en dishabille_ in our room," Beckett said. She watched him go and then made herself sit on the couch, not surprised when the dogs gathered around her the best they could though Macca jumped up next to her. "Thank you for leaving a spot for Rick boy," she told the Wolfhound. She scratched behind his ears and then leaned back remembering what she and her husband had talked about the night before. Since he'd brought it up she couldn't help doing that and she was smiling as the day had ended up being a complete joy all the way into that night.

* * *

 _"I love it," Castle was saying to Julia._

 _"But I just made a line," the little girl replied, looking at him._

 _"Still, fascinating," Castle replied, exaggerating his voice and placing his chin on his hand that was in a fist._

 _Julia giggled and said, "Are you gonna paint?"_

 _"I believe I will, but I want to wait for your mother to come out here," Castle said. He was startled when Julia just stared at him for a while and finally he asked, "What's wrong?" before he was jumping slightly as she ran her paintbrush over his chin. "Julia-" he said, slightly stunned._

 _"Mommy!" Julia cried before she set the brush down and ran over to where she was in her room._

 _"Sweetie what's wrong?" Beckett asked in surprise, looking over at her._

 _"Come see," Julia before she heard footsteps coming over to them. She gasped when she saw it was Castle and then hid behind her mother._

 _"Your daughter," he said to his girlfriend as he saw her noticing the blue line on his chin quickly. "Decided I needed a goatee."_

 _"Julia why did you do that?" Beckett asked her though not too sternly. "It wasn't very nice."_

 _The little girl looked between them and was about to speak when she suddenly burst into tears and ran out of the room._

 _"Hold on," Beckett told her boyfriend, holding her hand out to him to stop him. "Clean that off and I'll talk to her. By the way-"_

 _"I know, she didn't do that with malicious intent," Castle replied quickly. "But I just wonder why because it's not just joking around; not when she ran to get you almost as soon as she did it."_

 _Beckett nodded before she walked out and down to her daughter's room where Julia was curled up on her bed. "I don't know sweetie," she told her daughter. "I don't think Castle really wants any facial hair like you gave him." She'd used that to distract her daughter as she sat on the side of the bed before she placed her on her lap. "Why'd you do that?" she asked more gently._

 _Sniffing slightly Julia said, "I… do you still love Castle?" speaking shyly when she asked her question._

 _"Of course… is that why you did that? To see if I would still?" Beckett asked. When her daughter nodded rapidly she smiled and said, "He's asked me like that too, but he was worried about his hair."_

 _"If I lost my hair," Castle commented as he was standing in the doorway. When the two looked at him he came inside, pulling the chair there was so he could sit in front of them. "And I still never got an answer on that Kate."_

 _Sighing, though she was struggling not to smile, Beckett said, "I think you know the answer already and that is a yes."_

 _"Thank you," Castle said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it firmly. "Thank you," he said to Julia._

 _"Why?" the little girl asked with a smile as he didn't sound like he was mad._

 _"Because you got your mom to finally answer that," Castle replied. He then smiled and said, "Should we go back to our art? You're ready to join us, right?"_

 _"I am, come on sweetie I want to see what you make," Becket said before she and Castle stood. They went together to the family room where she sat with them at the coffee table and they began to paint together before her daughter began to giggle and speak to them both._

 _"I wanna paint the sea," Julia said._

 _"Looks like she still has Hamptons on the brain," Castle commented, looking across the table at his girlfriend who was next to her daughter._

 _"Of course she does," Beckett said with a slight smile._

 _"How long do you think it'll take her to forget?" Castle asked._

 _Beckett smiled a little wider and told him, "We'll start decorating for Halloween next week so then probably."_

 _"Halloween?" Julia asked interestedly._

 _"Yes, but not yet sweetie," Beckett replied. "I don't blame you for being excited though."_

 _"I get to go outside to trick or treat," Julia told Castle seriously._

 _"In the buildings," Beckett told her boyfriend as he looked at her questioningly._

 _"Yeah," Julia said happily before she handed her brush to her mother._

 _"You're coming over right?" Castle asked. "She'll get the best candy in my building and Mother wants us to go to her party at her studio, even if for just a few minutes."_

 _"She called me yesterday before you came over," Beckett said, watching her daughter. "And we'll go."_

 _"Great, we'll have some pizza and then go," Castle said._

 _Glancing at Julia; whose head had snapped up at that; Beckett told him, "I guess we'll need to get some tonight."_

 _"Can we Mommy?" Julia asked hopefully._

 _"Yes," Beckett replied easily. "But for now, finish up your picture."_

 _"What're you making?" Castle asked, leaning over._

 _"You'll see soon enough," Beckett replied easily, waving him off. "What about you?" she asked with a smile as she watched him lean back._

 _"You'll see," Castle said simply, slightly echoing her. He went back to his painting but had stopped, seeing that Julia was dipping her fingertips into the black paint jar that was open._

 _Holding up her hand when she saw her boyfriend had opened his mouth to speak Beckett said, "Are those supposed to be animals?"_

 _"Fishies," Julia replied, nodding her head though she was still working on her painting. When she had finished she smiled widely and said, "I have to put more."_

 _"First-" Castle said as he reached out to her. He stopped himself from continuing as she had reached over to press her four finger tips against his. "Now we're twins," he said in amusement, wriggling his fingers and making the little girl giggle heavily. "I was going to say you should wash your hands."_

 _"He's right, that way you won't get your brushes dirty," Beckett said. When her daughter nodded she stood up and was about to take her hand when Julia did so and then pressed her paint covered fingers to her own._

 _"You too Mommy," the little girl said, smiling at her._

 _"Thank you but now none of us can paint again," Beckett replied. She allowed her daughter to pull her over to the kitchen where Castle was reaching the sink and washed her hands with him and Julia. When they were back at the table she said, "Are you almost finished?"_

 _"Yeah, I have to make sky," Julia replied before she picked up her brush with some more blue. She finished her painting before she gave her brush to her mother saying to both her and Castle, "My ocean."_

 _"Very nice," he said first. "It looks like there are a lot of fish there."_

 _"Yep," Julia giggled before she looked at her mother._

 _"It's very pretty," Beckett assured her before she kissed her on the cheek. "And that will look very nice on the fridge once it dries."_

 _"Thank you, Mommy," Julia said, wrapping her arms around her neck. "What did you make?"_

 _"Here," Beckett said, carefully picking up her paper._

 _"What is it?" Castle asked her as she showed him after Julia had seen._

 _"Have you ever heard of the Alhambra?" Beckett replied._

 _"Of course," Castle said with a nod. "One of the patterns there?" he asked as she'd made diamonds from reds, blues and greens._

 _"My attempt at that, my father has been a few times," Beckett explained with a slight smile._

 _"I think you did a nice job," Castle commented._

 _"What about you?" Julia asked him shyly._

 _"Oh, just some… snails that got drunk," Castle replied, picking up his painting and showing them the swirls around on them._

 _"And into paint," Beckett added as her daughter was giggling._

 _"Can they all go on the 'ridge?" Julia asked once she'd calmed down._

 _"Of course," Beckett replied, leaning over and pressing her lips to her temple. "But they need to dry."_

 _"Kay," Julia said quickly. She smiled and then asked, "What do we do now Mommy?"_

 _"Wash our hands to get the paint off again and then you can pick," Beckett replied._

 _"We took a while," Castle commented as he waited for his girlfriend to help her daughter wash her hands._

 _"It's not time for lunch yet," Beckett said simply as she cleaned her own hands._

 _"No but I have a suggestion," Castle said as he stood at the sink next._

 _"Dim sum," Beckett said at the same time as him. When he looked at her in surprise she smiled and said, "I had the same idea."_

 _When he'd dried his hands, Castle leaned over and brushed his lips to hers before she stopped him. "What?" he asked._

 _"Julia?" Beckett asked him. She was startled when he shook his head and then pulled her even closer to him, kissing her hard on the lips. She clung to him tightly, responding to him with all the passion she could muster. She forgot momentarily about her daughter, not realizing that the little girl had decided what she wanted to do and had turned to them._

 _Smiling Julia covered her face with her Stitch doll, but she soon found that uncomfortable and she moved it away carefully, seeing they were still kissing. The smile was soon back on her face and she made Stitch 'dance' on her lap as she continued to wait. When she heard heavier breathing she looked up at her mother and Castle and saw they were pressing their foreheads together. She did the same with her doll but couldn't really see why they were obviously enjoying doing that before her mother began to speak._

 _"She saw us," Beckett murmured to her boyfriend._

 _"I know," Castle replied easily. "But she didn't call to us, so I think we're good."_

 _Beckett tried not to roll her eyes, but she couldn't resist leaning over and brushing her lips against his. She made a slight sound of protest when he caught her lips rapidly but couldn't stop him yet again. Luckily that kiss was shorter before they pulled apart and she said, "Remember what I told you earlier?"_

 _"Surely you don't mind this break for just a second?" Castle asked. When she sighed he smiled and then leaned over, kissing her yet again before he slowly pulled away and let her go before they turned their attention to Julia who he was startled to see was watching them calmly._

 _"Are you okay?" Beckett asked her daughter._

 _"Yeah can we play again now?" Julia said, speaking with a wide smile on her face as she didn't want her mother to think she was mad they were doing that._

 _"Of course," Castle said when his girlfriend had looked over at him. "What did you want to do?" he then asked once they were closer to her._

 _"This," Julia said, pointing to what she'd grabbed._

 _"Oh man I haven't played with Play-Doh in… forever," Castle said, clapping his hands together. "Alexis got really tired of it… well, she got older."_

 _"And you?" Beckett said to her boyfriend teasingly._

 _Julia watched Castle lean over to her mother, whispering in her ear, and was startled when Beckett's cheeks grew pink. "What did he say Mommy?" she asked._

 _"If he can play with us," Beckett said before she heard a snort of laughter from him._

 _Castle looked away when his girlfriend literally shot daggers at him at the noise, as he'd promised her he'd be the adult that night before adding rapidly he'd also be a man too. He'd held himself back from commenting on the playing word before he then said, "Can I?"_

 _"Yeah, we have to make food," Julia said quickly._

 _Studying the set on the table Castle said, "I guess we're baking."_

 _"We are and so you know we haven't played with this yet so we're all going to learn to use it together," Beckett commented._

 _"What colors do we have?" Castle asked. "By the way, thank you Julia for letting me play."  
With a slight blush on her cheeks Julia jumped up and then hurried over to where some of her toys were kept. She grabbed the box in there and then went over to them saying, "We have these."_

 _"I played with Play-Doh when I was little too," Beckett replied with a smile at her boyfriend's surprise. "And I only had three colors; it drove me crazy."_

 _"I had the same amount and me too," Castle said before they turned their attention to Julia who was taking out the numerous; and different colored; cans of Play-Doh. "Can we get the set all ready for you?" he asked the little girl._

 _Beckett smiled as Julia merely nodded and she and Castle got the bakery set out from its box and then set up before they were finished._

 _"What are these?" Castle asked as he held up one can that was purple instead of the normal yellow._

 _"Softer Play-Doh," Beckett answered. "It's the frosting."_

 _"Nice," Castle said with a nod. "Okay Chef Julia, what are we making today?"_

 _Giggling a little at the title the little girl said, "You can make cookies. And Mommy can you make them into sandwiches?"_

 _"Of course," Beckett replied with a smile. "What are you going to do?"_

 _"I think the cupcake," Castle said out of the corner of his mouth as the little girl was reaching for the holder that was with the set._

 _"Do you need any help sweetie?" Beckett asked her._

 _"Yes Mommy," Julia replied as she wasn't sure how exactly she could make the cupcake itself._

 _With a nod Beckett helped her form the base of the cupcake before she helped her put the softer Play-Doh into the tube that would allow her to squeeze it out as frosting. "Okay, let's see how you can do," she told her daughter with a smile._


	15. Compounding My Worst Fears (Part 2)

_Julia nodded, a little nervous, before she then began to squeeze out the blue frosting. She giggled as it nearly squirted out at first, but she was soon able to control it and she made a tall pile._

 _"I like it," Castle said when Beckett made a slight noise to get his attention. "Might I buy that?" When she shook her head he asked, "No? Why not?"_

 _"I wanna put it here," Julia replied, pointing it out._

 _"Oh I see, alright then I'll make my own treat," Castle told her._

 _Julia giggled as she made some decorations in the molds before she finally finished with her cupcake and put it under the plastic dome that was on a stand above some shelves. "We can almost open the shop Mommy," she told her as Beckett was making a cookie sandwich with what Castle had made._

 _"The shop?" he asked. "I think you mean the bakery."_

 _"Is that what it is called?" Julia asked. When he nodded she smiled and then said to her mother, "I can open it soon Mommy."_

 _"Good, who'll be your customers?" Beckett asked. When her daughter shook her head, she smiled at Castle who she could tell was trying not to laugh and she then got some of the frosting Play-Doh in between two of the sandwiches before pressing them together. "Chef Julia?" she asked. "Where do I put this?"_

 _"Um…" the little girl said, looking over the set closely._

 _"Why don't you set it right here on the table until we're ready?" Castle asked her._

 _"Kay," Julia said, nodding at her mother. She then turned her attention to making cookies herself, decorating them and making things from the little molds as her mother and Castle were watching her. "I think now we can open Mommy," she said._

 _"Then put everything here on the shelves," Beckett told her, helping her do so._

 _When everything was ready Julia got up so she could grab her Stitch doll and said, "This is my first customer."_

 _"Do you need our help?" Castle asked her with a smile._

 _"No," Julia told them firmly. "You are my two customer Mommy and then my three customer."_

 _"Second and third," Beckett corrected her._

 _"Yeah, those," Julia said._

 _Beckett bit at her lower lip as she couldn't help the smiling at how serious her daughter was being. But she didn't say anything, watching Julia show the doll everything they'd made before advising it on what it should purchase._

 _"Now you can come here Mommy," Julia replied when she'd set Stitch aside with one of the cookies._

 _"Okay," Beckett said though she had remained next to her daughter. "What do you have today?"_

 _Watching Julia showing her mother what they had made Castle was impressed that his girlfriend went along with everything to make it seem like her daughter really did have a bakery. When she had 'bought' something he then said, "Ding, ding," before he saw the little girl was looking at him in obvious confusion. He did his best not to smile and told her, "I opened the door to your bakery," in explanation._

 _"Oh, welcome to my bakery," Julia said. "Do you want some cookies?"_

 _"Well I think I need more than just a cookie," Castle said._

 _"Rick," Beckett said then, going around the table to him._

 _"Yes Kate?" Castle asked, startled at her use of his name but not minding it._

 _"Don't forget we have a party tonight," Beckett told him._

 _Smiling as he was able to easily understand what she was doing Castle then said, "That's right, we need a lot of desserts for our party. We might have to buy everything."_

 _"Kay," Julia said eagerly. "We have lots of good things to eat for parties."_

 _"Great, show us what you have," Castle told her._

 _Julia nodded and explained everything before she waited for them to say what they wanted._

 _"We'll take everything," Beckett said._

 _Squealing in joy Julia then began to give them the desserts and when she was finished she was startled when Castle set down a five. "What is that?" she asked._

 _"We need to pay for everything so there you are," he replied. "Thank you."_

 _"Yes, thank you," Beckett added though she was touched at his giving her actual money. "Okay, that was fun; we should get everything back where it needs to go though. You can take your five to your piggy bank sweetie."_

 _"I can?" Julia asked in obvious shock._

 _"Of course, I don't need it and I did buy desserts," Castle said. He was startled when she got up and then went to him, hugging him around the neck briefly. He smiled at her quiet thank you and said, "You're very welcome, I hope you'll do something fun with that five."_

 _Julia, as she'd already let go of him, nodded shyly and then hurried to go into her room. "Look Kauai," she told her goldfish with a smile. "Castle gave me five dollars, he's nice." She looked at the bill and then smiled widely before she giggled and said, "I hugged him and said thank you. That was good right?" She looked close at her fish and when he opened and closed his mouth she said happily, "Thanks Kauai!" She went to her piggy bank and got the bill in there before she heard her mother calling her name._

 _"Are you okay?" Beckett asked once her daughter had come out form the bedrooms. When Julia nodded she said, "Castle's going to order lunch for us so let's wash our hands and get the table set."_

 _"Kay," Julia replied, smiling and waving at Castle when he glanced over at them._

 _Though he was busy with the order Castle smiled at the little girl but as he finished on the phone he hoped that wasn't just for the money he'd given her. But when she came up to him after her hands were clean he got his answer._

 _"Can we play more after?" Julia asked him._

 _"Sure, what would you like?" Castle asked in response._

 _"No, you and Mommy pick," Julia said. She then said, her hands behind her back, "That was fun to play with you."_

 _"I agree, I missed having a little girl to play with," Castle replied._

 _"And a mommy?" Julia asked shyly._

 _"Well, I usually just played with Alexis, but I've enjoyed getting to play with your mother too," Castle said, nodding his head rapidly. He then smiled and told her, "But you pick something."_

 _"He's right," Beckett said quickly, going over to them after washing her hands. "We want you to choose today."_

 _"Kay," Julia said slowly. She then held her arms up to her mother before she was on her hip. "Castle?" she asked as he was getting the plates for them._

 _"Yes?" he asked, looking at her._

 _"Thank you for that," Beckett told him. "I think tomorrow we should take her to a real bakery."_

 _"Oh?" Castle asked._

 _"That way she can see one for herself," Beckett replied._

 _"She hasn't yet?" Castle asked her. He saw Julia was shaking her head no and with a smile said, "I would love that, think I can ask Alexis and my mother to join us?"_

 _"I was going to tell you to do that," Beckett replied. She looked at Julia and then said, "Let's get ready before lunch gets here."_

 _Julia, once she was put down, went around the table and proceeded to set it with both her mother and Castle. She hummed a little while she was doing that, but she mainly listened to the two with her talking together._

 _"That would be nice," Beckett said. "You like to plan ahead don't you?"_

 _"Call it a failing," Castle replied._

 _"No, I think I'm alright with that," Beckett said with a slight laugh. "And I'll invite my father; he would want to go to the bakery too."_

 _"He'd want to see Julia I'm sure," Castle said before there was a knock on the door. He watched the little girl go to her mother and hold her hand before he hurried to answer it. He paid for the food and then took the bags to the kitchen, setting them on the counter before he took everything out._

 _"It smells good," Julia said as she and her mother had gone over to him and she could smell the food._

 _"I know, I can't wait," Castle replied with a smile. He then took the containers over to the table with his girlfriend and once Julia was sitting he took her hand._

 _"What?" Beckett asked in slight surprise._

 _Castle shook his head and then said to Julia, "Sorry about this."_

 _Before she could shake her head; as a way of saying she didn't care; Julia was trying not to laugh too loudly at the way he was kissing her mother. But it was very fast, and she frowned slightly before telling him, "Is that it?"_

 _Beckett laughed outright and told her daughter, "It was enough, we both need to eat."_

 _"She's right," Castle said before they sat down together. After they had gotten their food they wanted onto their plates they began to eat, and he said to his girlfriend's daughter, "Did you hear what your mom and I were talking about earlier?"_

 _"About dinner tomorrow?" Julia asked._

 _Nodding Castle said, "Since we're staying inside all day I want us to go out; or else I would have cooked for us."_

 _"Maybe during the week," Beckett told him._

 _Smiling at her Castle then turned his attention back to Julia and told her, "Also it'd be a chance for us to get together."_

 _"Where do we go?" Julia asked as they hadn't said that while they had been talking._

 _"I'm not sure yet," Castle replied. "I think I'll let that choice be your mother's."_

 _Biting the last of her_ shu mai _Beckett had to wait until she had swallowed it before she spoke, telling them, "I think we might try that steak house."_

 _"_ Bentley's _?" Castle asked. When she nodded he said thoughtfully, "I think that would be nice, my mother and your dad would like it."_

 _"If you're worried about her they have a kid's menu," Beckett replied. "But there's a reason I want to go tomorrow; a Sunday."_

 _With a smile Castle told her, "I know, their roast. That will be great, and do they have something like that for kids?"_

 _"They do," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "A smaller version but first I think we should address what you have in mind for after… also before."_

 _Smiling as he wiped off his mouth Castle asked, "You can read me that easily?"_

 _"After so many years?" Beckett shot back though she was smiling. She reached over to him and cupped his cheek gently before saying, "What do you want to do?"_

 _"I want to go back to my place after lunch; whatever we do; and let Alexis play with her until dinner," Castle replied. "But after that meal I want all of us to go back to the loft."  
"And do what?" Julia asked, smiling as they looked at her in surprise. "Play more?"_

 _"Yes, cards and maybe board games; it depends," Castle answered. He then looked at his girlfriend and asked, "Would you two spend the night?"_

 _"We will," Beckett said. "But she can't go to bed too late."_

 _"Are you gonna work then Mommy?" Julia asked her._

 _"No," Beckett said. "But just for Monday." She felt Castle squeezing her hand and smiled before she then said, "I'll be able to go see your dance class."_

 _Looking at Castle, Julia asked shyly, "Will you come too?"_

 _"If I'm invited," he replied quickly to her. Castle chuckled slightly at her rapid nodding of her head and he said with a smile, "Then yes, I'll go and eagerly because I want to see what you'll learn next."_

 _Julia wriggled a little on her chair and bit at the_ bao _she had in her hand, listening to them talking about what they could do on Monday before they picked her up._

 _"I'm really glad Lanie isn't off too," Castle finally commented as they were nearly finished._

 _"I know," Beckett replied, smiling at him. "Though I'll have to watch when she calls me."_

 _"Why is she going to call you?" Castle asked in surprise._

 _"She was trying to see if I was interested in dating another fireman she knows," Beckett said. She was going to continue but held off as her boyfriend was groaning and putting his head into his hands. "I know, but she wasn't too serious."_

 _"Why?" Castle asked in slight surprise._

 _"Because she knows my standards are much stricter," Beckett replied, nodding to her daughter._

 _"Good thing," Castle replied before he stood and took her plate. "And how do I hold up to those standards?"_

 _"You pass with flying colors," Beckett said, rolling her eyes in exaggeration before she and Julia were getting up to take their plates over to the kitchen as well. While he was washing them, she said to her daughter, "Want to tell Kauai what you had?" When Julia nodded and then ran off she said to her boyfriend, "What is it?"_

 _"She seems to be accepting me way more," Castle told her, not surprised she had noticed that._

 _Beckett smiled and told him, "I know, and that's because she likes having you around."_

 _"As a playmate?" Castle asked, hoping that was part of it._

 _"Not just that," Beckett replied. "She likes that you're with me. If she didn't then she really wouldn't have let us kiss like we have been."_

 _"I'm so happy to know that," Castle told her. He then began cleaning their glasses and he said, "She also wants to make sure you'll still like me it seems."_

 _Smiling Beckett replied, "I think it's love you and yes, she is."_

 _"Good thing she didn't see your reaction to my question last year about my hair," Castle said, ending that very slowly._

 _Shooting him a look Beckett then said, "We've cleared that up. If I can handle a blue goatee on you… I'll be fine with your hair in whatever condition it is."_

 _Studying her Castle then finished the last fork and hurriedly dried his hands. As soon as he had finished he reached for her and then brought her up to him before he said, "I'll hold you to that. And to slightly change the subject I should let you know I want a bath with you tonight; are you giving her one?"_

 _"No," Beckett said with a smile. She kissed him tenderly and then said as she pulled away, "But you still want to play?"_

 _"As much as you want to," Castle said seriously though he was relieved that his voice had taken on a husky quality as well._

 _"Good, I want to… numerous times," Beckett replied. She couldn't help smiling again as he shuddered heavily against her and she brushed her lips to his before she kept them against his and whispered, "You're not alone in what you want."_

 _"No," Castle said in obvious joy. He moved only slightly and that was all he needed to do before he had her lips with his own. He couldn't stop himself; knowing they weren't alone in the apartment; and he slipped his hands underneath her blouse to hold onto her back. He tried not to shudder too hard as he was feeling the warmth of her skin as well as the silky smoothness of it. That spurred him on to start kissing her even harder and they were soon clutching at one another desperately as they couldn't seem to stop while they began their second kiss after a brief gasp of air apart._

 _Julia, having exhausted her conversation with her fish, went back out and soon spotted her mother and Castle in one another's arms which made her smile. She turned and then went to her mother's room, climbing up on the bed before she held her Stitch doll by its arms and then waved it back and forth. When there was no call for her she then flopped onto her back in the middle and told her doll, "When I was a baby Mommy held me like this," cradling it. "You can be my baby now and you need to take a nap." She then pushed herself up, tucking the doll under the sheets and trying to get its head onto a pillow. After that she decided it looked so comfortable that she moved to lay down with it, staying above the covers as she didn't want to fall asleep like she knew her doll was._

 _"Wait," Beckett said quickly, stopping Castle as he was hungrily kissing over her neck. "Julia, she should have stopped a long time ago."_

 _"Right," he said though he was a little frustrated. "Okay," Castle finally said as he forced himself to let her go. He followed her over to Julia's bedroom but stopped her by grabbing her arm. "Look," he murmured to her, nodding over to her bedroom._

 _Peering at it Beckett couldn't help smiling widely at the sight of her daughter curled up next to her doll. "I guess we had too much fun so far today."_

 _"I think we did," Castle said as he followed her and grabbed a blanket she kept on the dresser._

 _"Thank you," Beckett replied as she saw the blanket in his hands. "But not yet."_

 _Castle watched in surprise as Beckett toed off her shoes and he then realized quickly what she was doing. He got his own shoes off before he lay on the other side of Julia as she'd already done so. He smiled at her and said, "Good idea getting some rest."_

 _"It was either that or we make out; we would have done it instead of playing with her," Beckett told him._

 _"Nothing wrong with that," Castle said easily. He then smiled before he reached over to her and said, "Are we sleeping?"_

 _"Resting," Beckett said quickly, letting him take her hand before he squeezed it gently. "We'll wake her up eventually because she needs to go to sleep tonight."_

 _Castle nodded, knowing she hadn't meant it to be sexual, and he then said, "This is nice though."_

 _"Yes," Beckett said simply, not really wanting to say anything else besides that._

 _Not surprised Castle looked down at Julia and said, "We need to go back to the Hamptons soon."_

 _"I thought we were going for Christmas?" Beckett asked him._

 _"We are, definitely," Castle said quickly. He then smiled and said, "I'm eager for that but why so little decorations?"_

 _"Castle, decorating every room is not little," Beckett said with a sigh though she was smiling._

 _"Still you're saying don't cover every last inch," Castle told her._

 _"You do that here because your loft is smaller than the beach house. So just enough that way we know it's Christmas when we see it," Beckett replied._

 _Castle was going to reply when he heard a soft sigh and looked with her at Julia who was moving then._

 _"Mommy?" the little girl asked softly._

 _"Hey, good morning sweetie," Beckett told her._

 _"Did I fall asleep?" Julia asked in surprise before she looked to her right and saw Castle was there._

 _"Do you want me to leave?" he said quickly._

 _"No," Julia said shyly before she sat up. She picked up her doll and said, "I was carrying Stitch like a baby like you did with me."_

 _"Want me to do that too?" Beckett asked her with a smile as she reached over to her._

 _"Yeah," Julia said. She waited for her mother; and Castle at the same time; to sit up and then got onto her lap as she let him take her doll. "Do you want me to be a baby still Mommy?" she asked her._

 _"I don't think so," Beckett said, rocking her gently. "If you were we wouldn't be able to play with you."_

 _"And we like doing that a lot," Castle said with a smile. When the little girl smiled shyly back at him he couldn't stop himself and reached over, squeezing her hand._

 _Beckett was very pleased to see Julia smiling shyly at Castle though she knew they should get up. But she couldn't help enjoying holding her daughter as she was and continued to do so before her boyfriend was talking to the little girl directly while he squeezed her hand once more that she allowed him to do._

 _"Speaking of playing, how about we do that now?" Castle asked._

 _"Kay," Julia said eagerly._

 _"You know we probably should get some exercise," Beckett said when her daughter looked at her._

 _"Will you go on the bar?" Julia asked eagerly._

 _"Bar?" Castle asked._

 _"I'll show you," Beckett said simply and with a smile. She let Julia get off her lap so she could get off the bed and when Castle was with them she walked to the living room. She jumped up to reach the bar and did a few pull ups, not surprised to find her boyfriend's eyes were wide when she stopped and got back down on the floor._

 _"Let me guess," Castle said, trying not to show by his expression how incredibly hot he thought she'd looked doing that. "That's why you got the place."_

 _"Exactly," Beckett said in amusement as he hadn't really fooled her. "And I just did that to show him sweetie," she told her daughter who was watching them. "We should do something else."_

 _"If we're not leaving the apartment then I'm interested in seeing this," Castle commented._

 _"Hide and seek!" Julia gasped as she suddenly thought of it._

 _"Yes," Beckett said when Castle glanced over at her. "Let's see who's it first," she told the two before she started to say the rhyme she'd looked up to teach her daughter to pick who'd be it, her boyfriend sticking his hand out with theirs as well._

 _With a smile back at her Castle had to wonder when they could have a day like that again as so far he was enjoying it greatly. He then turned his attention back to the game since Julia was it and he couldn't help squeezing his girlfriend's hand in passing before they left to hide, his eyes on her for a second longer than he'd planned before he disappeared into her office._

* * *

"Kate?" Castle said.

Looking up from the part of the paper that she held Beckett said, "What?"

"I was thinking about that day you reminded me of last night," Castle replied. "Did I ever tell you thank you?"

"For what?" Beckett asked, not sure what he was thanking her for exactly.

"The not minding my appearance thing we talked about," Castle answered.

Beckett smiled and then said, "You did. Why were you thinking of that?" When he tapped his glasses, she smiled a bit wider and told him, "You know I don't mind those."

" _If we made love_ ," Castle began, speaking in Irish in case her father came back. " _Right this second would you want me to be wearing these still_."

" _I would but would you be able to see anything with them on_?" Beckett asked him with a smile on her face.

" _Not really but I'm glad to know that_ ," Castle said. He then carefully took her legs; that had been stretched across his lap; and moved them so he could bend over to her to take her lips. He made that kiss very gentle and careful at first before he slowly deepened it and slipped his tongue into her mouth.

Discarding the paper in her hands Beckett wrapped her arms around him quickly and held him tight before he was doing the same to her. They were soon parting and coming back together again as they needed to breathe before she suddenly heard the text alert sound for her husband's phone.

"Brad," Castle groaned heavily as he and his wife had instantly stopped. "He's got the worst timing," he said, shaking his head.

"Not really, it's nearly nine-thirty," Beckett told him.

"It is, and we can go in," Castle said as he read the message. "Remind me to tell him about lunch."

"Tell Coupe and Scarsi," Beckett said as they stood up. "They'll likely shove us out the door."

"Good point, I'll do that as soon as we get there," Castle replied. He smiled when Beckett shook her head at him; though she was smiling as well; and he kissed her cheek before they went to the foyer.

"Katie?" Jim called, entering the house as the two were grabbing their coats.

"In here Dad," Beckett called to him. "We're about to leave," she said when she looked down the hall and soon saw him approaching. She smiled as the dogs went to him and she said, "We'll be there for lunch, we'll call you."

"Be careful," Jim said, hugging her before he watched her leave with her husband.

Going out to the car, Castle drove them to the station and they were quiet the entire drive as they were turning their attention to the case. Inside the building after he'd parked a bit haphazardly they made their way straight to Brad's office where they found the chief by himself.

"Great you guys made it here in good time," the man said as he stood up. "We've looked at all those names and guess what we have?"

"Nothing?" Beckett asked.

"Zilch?" Castle then suggested.

"Nil," Brad added. "We're walking thesauruses. No, we didn't find anything though I thought we would have something because of this name," he said as he made his way over to the murder board.

"Broderick Shields?" Beckett asked, reading the new information there.

"Yeah, he was another one that looked good for the murder, but he was cleared for two of them," Brad answered. "I had to wonder though if he wasn't a partner."

"Did the FBI ever do a profile on the bomber?" Beckett said suddenly.

"The papers for that came in today; it's been updated a bit," Brad said, going over to his desk and picking something up. He then handed the paper he'd been looking for to Beckett and said, "You might enjoy this one."

" _The bomber wants attention and is narcissistic_ ," she began reading as Brad went to the board to write that down. " _And to get that attention he feels the need to show off to Chief Davis; formerly Detective Davis from the APD. He will target what is most important to him and will taunt him. He is… is close to the chief and will be someone known to him_ ," Beckett finished, looking up at him at the same time her husband was.

"Yippee," Brad said grimly. "Keep going though; it gets better."

" _Possible reasons for fixation on Davis_ ," Beckett began. " _One, jealous of accomplishments_."

"I'm not that big a deal," Brad said quickly as the two glanced up at him. "You know what I've done."

"Still," Castle commented. "You've made chief… maybe that's a trigger."

"If it is it took him a hell of a long time to act on that," Brad disagreed, shaking his head at the same time.

" _Two_ ," Beckett said as he'd motioned for her to continue. " _Possible romantic attachment unfulfilled to Davis_."

"That's the disturbing one," Brad said. "And if that's the case I hope it's a woman though that would be horrible too."

"That's all?" Beckett asked.

"They said the first one's the most likely," Brad told them with a slight incline of his head. He sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose before he said, "But I just got that, so I need to make a list now."

"Can you?" Castle asked as his wife went to sit at one of the chairs turned around to face the board.

"Oh, sure but recalling everyone from-" Brad began.

"You don't need to," Beckett cut him off. "Draw a Venn diagram Castle," she told her husband as she stood back up. Once he had she said, "You have two things. Albany and the Hamptons. And then this middle area."

"Both," Brad told her, not sure why she was telling him that as he was already aware of what would be on there.

"Police," Beckett said simply. "You need to think of what runs between these two to make up the third," she said, not surprised when he sighed and then sat in the chair where she'd been.

"You're so sure?" Brad asked her.

"Read that profile again," Beckett said simply. "Accomplishments and what's your career."

"But does that tell us if this bomber is police or civilian?" Castle asked her.

"That I really can't say for sure," Beckett replied. "It could be either." She then turned her attention to Brad and said, "Can you think of anyone at the APD that would fit that profile?"

Breathing out Brad said, "I'll get started on the list. What about civilians?"

"If they fit the profile," Castle said before he realized why his friend had said that. "How many people did you know were like that?" he asked, startled.

"Not that many," Brad said quickly. "Just a number stand out to me."

"Do you think I can ask you one thing?" Beckett said.

"Yeah," Brad said.

"Will Lily know any of these names?" Beckett asked him.

"Some," Brad said slowly.

"I'll grab you some tea love," Castle said. "Coffee for myself; do you want any Brad?" he asked his friend.

Waving his hand, the chief then said to his friend's wife, "I don't have anything to tell you, we didn't talk."

"I wasn't going to ask, that was my husband assuming I was," Beckett replied. "But I have to wonder if her ex might be someone you'd consider."

"William? No way," Brad replied, shaking his head. "He… oh I see," he then said as he realized why she'd suggested that. "But no, it's not him. He lives in France now; Marseilles. At the time of the bombings he was in the city, he moved with the woman he cheated on Lily with over there. But I will admit I did look into him."

"You wanted it to be?" Beckett asked.

"Has Rick ever wanted one of your exes to be?" Brad asked her.

Beckett paused for a moment before she told him about Demming and when they'd first met the man. "It didn't matter in the end, I broke up with him so…" she ended with.

"Is he still in Robbery?" Brad said.

"As far as I know," Beckett said, shrugging her shoulders. "But back to the case, you will need to talk to her. There's no way you can rely on Scarsi and Coupe for help; they were there but Lily was there first."

"She was," Brad said with a heavy sigh. "But I don't want to do that just yet, not until I know for sure if I need her help since she's working at her restaurant now."

"Alright," Beckett said, sitting down next to him. She watched him looking at the board and she put her hand on his shoulder. "You'll have a better chance now."

"You can say that from experience?" Brad asked.

"More activity helps," Beckett said. She was surprised when he froze then, and she said, "What?"

"No, I just remembered…" Brad began before he got up.

"Did he get something?" Castle asked his wife as he went over to her when he came inside with their drinks.

"I think so," Beckett replied, standing up and taking her tea before they went to the desk.

"I nearly forgot the name," Brad told them. "Shaun Smiley."

"Shaun… who's that?" Castle said.

"He's the, I mean he was the mayor of Albany at the time of the case," Brad explained. "And he was a bastard; he was constantly questioning us when we briefed him."

"Did you suspect him?" Castle asked.

"Of course," the chief said. "But I had to look into him a little discreetly because I couldn't let it get out that we were suspecting him. Well, I was suspecting him."

"Do you know where he is now?" Castle said.

"No," Brad said. "Can you take over that? I still need to remember all those names."

"Sure," Beckett replied, watching him go. After he had gone out she said to her husband, "I don't get the feeling it's him."

"Neither did I," Castle replied. "If he'd said he knew he was here…"

"I guess if he is here on the island then we might need to consider him," Beckett said with a sigh as she went around the desk to sit at the computer.

Standing behind her Castle read the information on Smiley and said, "I guess that happened after Brad left."

"Most likely," Beckett said as the man had been charged with embezzlement while mayor. "But it doesn't fit with him being the bomber."

"No," Castle replied. "He's still going to need to look at him though."

"I would be shocked if he didn't," Beckett said. "But did you see his address?"

"In the city but he could still come out here for this," Castle said. "Be out here for this."

Nodding Beckett said, "Which he'll find out once he's here."

"Guys," Brad said. "Did you find anything about Smiley?"

"Read for yourself," Beckett said, standing up and moving out of the way for him.

Once he could see the screen Brad breathed out and said, "It doesn't sound like him, or look like him I guess I should say. But I still have to call and check on him," as he was picking up the phone on his desk.

Castle and Beckett watched while he was talking to the man, they assumed, before he hung up and they shared a look before they waited for him to speak.

"He's just gotten back from the Bahamas," Brad said. "And I mean just; he literally just walked through the door."

"No surprise there," Castle said. "What about the other names you needed?"

"I spoke with Scarsi and Coupe, they remember some of the people and they'll check them out now. I have to get the more personal ones myself of course," Brad replied. "They wanted to know about Smiley though."

When they were alone again Castle asked, "Has he spoken to Lily?"

"No," Beckett said. "And it went no further than that. And I know you're hoping that he'll talk to me about this, but he doesn't want to."

Sighing Castle said, "I guess we'll have to leave it at that."

"You mean you will," Beckett replied. "Since of course I already have."

Castle inclined his head before he said, "I was hoping though."

"So was I but let's leave them be Rick," Beckett said. She looked outside the office and then said, "But this is getting… bizarre."

"Do you think we'll need to go up to Albany?" Castle asked her.

"No," Beckett said simply. "Because if it's necessary it'll be Scarsi and Coupe that go… likely Brad as well."

Nodding Castle then said, "What about the profile?"

"Since the profile is probably correct what worries me is they didn't address why the bomber is starting up again," Beckett replied.

"If you had to say why what would the reason be?" Castle asked. "I know," he added when she looked at him. "That you're not a profiler but you've been doing this for a long time."

Beckett looked at the murder board and after a moment she said, "Something happened."

"In Brad's life?" Castle asked in a rush before she could continue. "What if it's Lily? They've stopped talking-"

Placing her hand on her husband's mouth Beckett said, "Stop, it's not her and you're not letting me finish."

"Oh… sorry," Castle replied when she moved her hand. "Well, I guess I should let you do that."

Not saying anything as to the obviousness of the statement Beckett then told him, "And by something happened I mean to the bomber. A divorce or… something with their job."

"If you were asking about anyone with the APD then they could have lost their job and come down here," Castle replied. "And I'm not interrupting I'm saying what you're thinking."

She didn't say anything to that, so Beckett could easily continue with what she was telling him saying, "But what I think is most obvious is that he was stalking Brad before this. He saw what his life was like now and that drove him to start over again."

"The bomb at the school?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he did so one and said, "What if it was revenge?"

"Revenge?" Beckett asked in slight confusion.

"Yeah, the child of the bomber," Castle said.

"An interesting idea," Beckett said. "But I have my doubts about that."

"Would you find it better if I said the bomber taught their child?" Castle asked her.

Beckett smiled and then shook her head before she said, "I would but we have no evidence for that yet of course."

"Of course," Castle said simply.

"They want me to call Lily," Brad said, coming back into the office. "And still get the names. They seem to think I can do that at the same time." He rolled his eyes again and said, "Anything you guys have?"

"Not really, Castle asked me to fill in some blanks of the profile," Beckett told him. "Or attempt to anyways."

"Ambitious," Brad said. He then said, "I forgot to ask, and I'm sorry I did, but I have to wonder how's Julia?"

"She's alright," Beckett said first.

"Her arms are still cut but you wouldn't know it speaking to her," Castle added.

"Good," Brad said. "We told the kids about what happened while they were out," he added. "We had to, but they took it alright; though they were worried about Julia of course."

"Of course," Beckett said.

"You and Lily t…" Castle started to say before he trailed off quickly.

"We do talk just only when necessary," Brad told him a little angrily. "It doesn't matter."

"Yeah, you're right," Castle said rapidly.

"Brad?" Beckett said then. "Where were Scarsi and Coupe from when the case started?"

"They came from DC, I mentioned it to you," Brad said. "Oh, if you're thinking about them I did too but that was way at the end of the first investigation and it was out of desperation."

"I don't blame you," Beckett said. "They seem like they fit the profile."

"I agree," Castle said with a nod before he started to walk around. "What about your list?" he said when he recalled that suddenly.

"It's here but it's only partial," Brad said. "You know we were at Syracuse briefly before we moved here."

"Surprising they had detectives there," Castle commented.

"They would, it's not a small town," Beckett replied.

"But there wasn't much there," Brad added. He saw that she was about to speak, and he quickly said, "I know, I should think about there too but I can tell you with all certainty that no one from Syracuse was connected to Albany. To be honest it was just a stopping point from there to here."

"Sir?" Gordon said, coming over to the doorway. "I have the information that Scarsi and Coupe found."

"Thank you," Brad said, going over to the officer and taking it.

"Fast," Castle said when his friend soon after set aside the file.

"Nothing," Brad replied. "You know what really worries me?"

"He's not following the timeline of the bombing last time," Castle told him.

"No but you're thinking there'll be another one," Beckett told the chief.

"Exactly," Brad said. "I should call Lily; ask her if she can come in."

"We should have left this time," Castle told his wife when they were alone again.

"He would have kicked us out," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "But she won't come in."

"She won't want to?" Castle asked slowly.

"No," Beckett said. "She'll be busy; he said she's at the restaurant and I know she's getting ready for the lunch rush by now."

"Maybe she'll at the very least talk to him," Castle replied. "Should we look at the names?"

"No, I trust Brad that there wasn't anything," Beckett said. She then commented, "But I'd be remiss if I didn't."

"Nice, you nearly got me with that," Castle replied. He heard his wife's phone ring with a text alert and said, "Your dad?"

Beckett, quickly grabbing her phone turned it on and said, "No it's Julia."

"Recess?" Castle asked.

"More towards the end I think," Beckett said as their daughters had the second recess at the elementary school that year. "Oh, we didn't tell Brad about lunch."

"Is it a picture?" Castle then said when she saw that she was smiling. He hurried over to her and saw that it was Julia and Eliza and he smiled himself saying, "They look to be alright."

"I think so," Beckett said before she put her phone away as Coupe was walking into the office at that moment.

* * *

"What did Mommy say?" Eliza asked her sister then.

"She said _Cute picture we loved it_ ," Julia replied. " _We have to work I need to go we love you_."

"That was short," Peter commented as he, Dawn and Mari were with them.

"Someone must have gone to them while they were working," Julia explained.

"You're not going to text her back?" Dawn asked.

"Nope, I can't," Julia replied. "That fast she's busy now."

"She showed Daddy the picture, right?" Eliza asked her sister.

"Of course, you know she would show him even if she had to run around the station to find him," Julia said with a smile.

"Would your mom do that? She's kinda big," Peter said. "I mean…" he started to say when he realized what she'd said.

"It's okay, we know you meant the baby," Mari said quickly.

"She's right, we know," Julia said. "And she wouldn't run she'd call him."

"And then he'd go running to her," Mari said.

"So would your dad to your mom," Julia quickly told her.

"I think it's more now 'cause she's pregnant," Dawn said.

"I think it's the same all the time," Mari said, not surprised when the other two nodded.

"Why are we talking about our parents?" Julia asked, motioning between herself and her sister.

"Because you read the note," Dawn said first.

"And we saw them yesterday," Peter commented. When the others looked at him he smiled widely and told them, "I could tell he was worried about Kate."

"Me too," Dawn said. "And you of course," she then added quickly to Julia.

"Thanks," the girl said with a smile. "But why don't we play something now before… the bell rings," Julia began to say when it did. She sighed and then turned to her sister, hugging her as hard she could saying, "Bye, have fun at lunch with Grandpapa."

"Kay, I wanna ask if I can go with Mommy and Daddy," Eliza said with a smile. "Bye," she said to Dawn and Peter.

"Bye guys," Mari said to the two as well. They split up then and she walked with Julia as they walked the little girl down to the elementary school. "Think you'll be okay to dance?" she asked her friend.

"Yeah, as long as we don't have to roll around on the floor," Julia said with a smile. "But I don't think we will."

Eliza giggled and said, "I hope we can dance."

"We will, there's your class," Julia told her sister as she saw the preschool class lining up. "See you there at the studio."

"Bye Jules, Mari!" Eliza called to them before she ran over to the others.

"Have people been asking you a lot of questions?" Mari asked Julia once they started to take the long way back to their classrooms on the second floor.

"Well, not in my class but the other sixth grade ones yeah," the girl replied, shaking her head. Julia said, "I guess they just want to hear what happened but…"

"What?" Mari asked, about to open the door on the fire escape.

"No… it's Alfred, I see him," Julia said, looking over the railing. "Thank you," she said softly, waving once and then stopping in case anyone looked up and saw her.

"Where?" Mari asked, going over with her.

"Straight down, you won't be able to see him," Julia replied. "You saved our lives," she said softly. "And we're very grateful, especially our parents."

Watching her friend Mari saw she appeared to be listening and she smiled before Julia turned to her. "What did he say?" she asked.

"He likes listening to the kids here; when we're good," the girl said with a wide smile. "So he wanted to help us."

"Does he know-" Mari started to ask.

"He knew I was gonna ask," Julia said quickly before she turned to look down again and then grew serious. "And he didn't see who left that bomb but Alfred knows he's going to leave another."

"At the school?" Mari asked in surprise.

"No-" Julia started to say before the sound of an explosion tore through the silence of the playground. They looked to the west and saw smoke rising into the air a second later before she widened her eyes at the same time Mari was when they realized what had just happened.

Without any more hesitation, Julia and Mari ran inside the building, yelling to someone for help.

* * *

"Does it seem like Brad's taking a really long time?" Castle asked his wife as he entered the office again.

"You were in there where he is," Beckett reminded him as she looked at him.

"I was but he stopped," Castle replied.

"Then they're talking now," Beckett said. She glanced over at the bull pen before she said, "Not the best time to talk really."

"No but if it might help the case…" Castle commented before he looked with her as the chief walked inside.

"I made about… twenty phone calls and she's not answering," Brad said.

"She's likely busy," Beckett said, glancing at her husband.

"Maybe," Brad said. He sighed and said, "I might as well go over-" before he was cut off by the muffled sound of an explosion. "Was that…" he began before he ran out of the office as the officers in the bull pen were looking to him.

Castle and Beckett followed but because she couldn't run they were last out in front of the station, looking around to see where the explosion was with the others.

"Chief," Hutchinson called from the station door. "We're getting calls in."

Brad went back inside but kept from running as he recalled Castle and Beckett were with him, and he said to the agents who were also with him, "He's early."

"If he follows the pattern we don't have much time left," Scarsi said.

"Where was the explosion?" Castle asked once they were with dispatch.

"McFarland?" Brad asked she was staring at the phone.

"Sir I'm sorry but they're saying it happened outside a restaurant… _The Courtier_ ," she told them before she went back to the calls that were coming in.

"Oh god," Brad said as he knew that restaurant well, looking at Castle and Beckett as they looked as aghast as he felt. "Lily."


	16. Over All Unrighteous Action

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I'm so sorry readers for not getting this chapter up yesterday like I had planned. The site would not let anyone upload new documents in the doc manager, so I spent all day testing to see if I could as I really needed to get this up for you all to be able to read. But I'm able to now and I want to let everyone know that I'll still post the next chapter on Wednesday as planned and I'm also hoping that it won't inconvenience anyone. Enjoy the chapter!

A/N #2: I was very happy to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so will go to my thank yous! Mb (Really happy to read you thought the first half was a sweet update. And really happy to see you thought the love scene was hot and loving, I do try to write those scene as both the best I can with them. Not surprised you thought them with their family and pets was a normal day, but I am glad that you thought it was sweet! Great you loved the flashback about Julia slowly getting more and more used to Castle in; as you put it; her life and heart too. I did have to laugh at the way you mentioned you had a feeling that something was going to happen and throw everything and everyone into chaos again because of course you were right, and I knew you were. You're very welcome for sharing the first half of the chapter! And with the second half I'm glad you thought it was a fantastic update too. I will admit that I laughed at your reaction to the evil cliffhanger though you were right about it, lol. And you got what I was doing with the flashback, lulling you with seeing Julia letting Castle into her life and heart as you said. And glad you saw too that she was seeing Castle and Beckett's love building and how they love her too. And not surprised that you saw that love was coming from Jim, Martha and Alexis since they were becoming a family of course. No surprise that you thought the case was progressing so slow and frustrating, I was aiming for that of course, lol. And interesting to see that besides the professional jealousy angle and personal fixation on Brad angle you thought maybe the fixation is on Lily. I'm glad you mentioned me going to the kids at school and them being kids as you said and being back to normal, since you enjoyed it. And for that reason, I'm also happy that you mentioned Julia seeing Alfred and talking to him about the next bomb before she and Mari heard the bomb go off. I was glad to read your reaction to you knowing the bomb was going off where Lily was and wanting her to be okay since I'm glad you like her too. Had to laugh at you saying it was an evil but amazing cliffhanger but happy to see I could do that. And Happy belated Birthday, glad you considered the update a late birthday present. You're welcome for that. And you're welcome for the chapter all together!),

MsNYC (Great to know that you were glad Mari was there with Julia while she had her nightmare. And don't worry, lol, I only had three colors too so I'm right in the same boat with you. Nice to read you loved the flashback with the three of them! And yeah, Alfred definitely knew what was going to happen. Not surprised you hope that Lily is okay, the same for you hating for something to happen to her right now while she and Brad are not really getting along normally. And I agree with you totally that that is the worst feeling thinking how things could have been different if something was said or done differently. Great you're glad that Alfred is looking out for the kids. No surprise you wish he'd seen the bomber though. And really happy to read you thought it was great writing as usual!),

TORONTOSUN (Really happy to see you thought it was a very good chapter. And of course, I'm glad that you liked the flashback! And not surprised you're hoping that Lily is okay!) and

vetgirlmx (Not surprised to see your reaction to the ending of the last chapter or that you can't wait to find out if she was there or not. Or that you really need to know if she's hurt and how bad she is if she's was. I'm also not surprised that you were enjoying the chapter as you said so much before the cliffhanger. I did expect that to happen with readers of course, seeing the difference with Julia and then worried about Lily… it's what I aimed for, lol. And not surprised you forgot about how Julia had been with Castle. But you did catch that she was to a certain point, and yeah, I figure he makes her laugh it takes away the fear a bit. And yeah, at only 4 with Julia so scared her birth mother did mess her up, that was me trying to show how much Julia's birth mother's fear had taken a toll on her, so I agree with you there. And not surprised you're hoping that Julia will never know how lucky she is to have ended up with Castle and Beckett. And yeah, she would have had a very different life if her birth mother hadn't been murdered in the end. But I can understand why you talked about that for a bit since my chapter was a lot of the flashback of course, lol, so it was running through your mind. Great you loved the flashback, as usual as you said. And of course, happy you liked this flashback specially since I had Julia accepting Castle more in it. Oh, and nice to know you loved that phase and you love remembering it too since I do myself! No surprise you're very, very eagerly waiting for the next chapter since you're seriously worried about Lily as you said, and now you don't need to wait anymore!).

Thanks so much for the review, I loved reading each one and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Tears of the World_ by George Harrison, from the original rejected track listing of his album _Somewhere in England_.

Over All Unrighteous Action

"Lily?"

"Lily!"

"Is there a Lily Davis here?" Castle asked, looking into the back of one the ambulances there as his wife and friend were yelling for the woman.

"No," the EMT said brusquely.

Castle nodded, as he could see the person on the stretcher was a man, and then ran to the next.

"Chief," Bernier called as Beckett and Brad had stopped yelling when they realized they wouldn't be able to find Lily. "She's already on her way she left just before we turned down the street." When the man looked uncertain he said, "I can take point here sir."

"Thank you," Brad replied.

"We'll follow you," Castle said for himself and his wife. When his friend nodded and then ran off he and Beckett followed as fast as they could before they were driving. He looked over at her, wanting to speak but deciding not to as there wasn't much he could say that would just be a platitude when she took an audible deep breath.

"Their injuries are minor, and they'll be released," Beckett said as the two other ambulances had been there for a while. "But Lily… She wasn't there when the bomb went off she was further back…"

Castle wanted to say that she had maybe wanted to get checked out further or the EMT dispatch hadn't had current information; which Brad had related to them as they'd driven to Lily's restaurant. He then said, "We'll know now but try and think that she's okay and just getting patched up."

Placing her hands on her abdomen Beckett nodded and murmured, "I am." By then they reached the hospital and she was out of the car before they walked up to the building together as quickly as they could. She let her husband ask where Chief Davis was; as she hadn't expected him to wait for them; and they were directed to the second floor.

Castle took his wife's hand as they made their way over to the elevators and he squeezed it gently while they were waiting. "Kate?" he asked when they stepped inside the car.

Shaking her head quickly Beckett said, "Let me see how she is."

Nodding Castle let her step out and he went to ask at the nurses' station where Lily was.

"Mrs. Davis is in a room and her husband is with her," the nurse there replied. "If you'd like to see her I can tell her you're here."

"Please," Beckett said gratefully. When the woman nodded and motioned to the chairs she let her husband lead her over to two and she said, "What do you think?"

"You want to speculate now?" Castle asked, slightly startled.

"There's nothing else to do really," Beckett said though she didn't sound very certain.

"We can wait for that," Castle replied, looking over as the nurse was coming from the hall where the rooms were.

"She'll see you but they're talking at the moment so Chief Davis will come out to get you," the nurse said, going over to them. "Are you alright ma'am?"

"I'm fine," Beckett said, not surprised she was asking that. She smiled slightly at her and then leaned against her husband as she closed her eyes tightly. "She has to be alright," she finally said.

"Especially if they're talking now," Castle said.

"That is a good thing, but I wish it hadn't been the bomb that spurred them to," Beckett said with a slight sigh.

Castle pressed a kiss to her temple and then told her, "I guess we need to focus on the positive; they might just make up and get back to normal."

"Let's hope," Beckett replied before they began to wait. She tried not to get too impatient as time went by but finally she looked over at the hall and saw Brad was coming towards them. She jumped up the best she could and went to him saying worriedly, "How is she?"

"She has some cuts to her arms from debris but they're minor," the chief told them as Castle was standing next to his wife.

"Then why is she here?" Beckett asked.

"Come on," Brad replied simply, not really answering her question.

Looking over at her husband; who shrugged; Beckett then walked with him after his friend until they reached a room and he knocked on the door before opening it and letting her go in first.

"Hey Kate," Lily said from the bed.

"Oh my god," Beckett gasped when she got a good look at her friend. She rushed over to her and then embraced her tightly, leaving their husbands behind in the doorway.

For a moment Castle was confused but then saw what his wife had, and he said to Brad, "Why didn't you tell us?"

Motioning him inside the chief closed the door and then said, "Because she only just told me."

"How far along are you?" Beckett asked her friend as she let her go.

"I'll be five months on the second," Lily said, laying her hand on her stomach which was more curved than normal. She took the hug that Beckett gave her, and she said, "If you're wondering why Brad didn't know I'm pregnant…"

"You had a fight?" Castle guessed.

"No, we had always said two was going to be it," Lily replied. "And now that I'm expecting our third I was honestly scared."

"Your hormones," Beckett said knowingly.

"Definitely," Lily replied with a slight smile. "But I became terrified about what he would say and if he would want the baby. I was obviously a mess," she said with a wider smile. "But he's happy… very happy."

"Will you find out what you're going to have?" Beckett asked.

"We just did," Brad said slowly as he and his wife shared a smile. "She was being checked out and we had an ultrasound done after I stopped kissing her."

"And?" Castle said when they didn't continue.

"A girl," Lily said with a soft laugh as Beckett immediately hugged her again.

"I guess our daughter will be friends with yours," Brad said as Castle quickly shook his hand.

"I think so," Castle said with a slight laugh. "But she's alright?"

"They both are, and she can go whenever she likes," Brad answered.

"He's going to grab me some clothes," Lily replied. "How are Pablo and Juanita?" she then said, looking somber.

"Minor injuries they're being treated at the scene," Brad replied. "And the restaurant is closed for the rest of the day," he said to Castle and Beckett. "Everyone was shaken up though the three of them were the only ones outside."

"He waited to take my statement," Lily commented in amusement. "But since you're here I can tell you now. Pablo was getting the fresh lettuce that he'd bought at the Farmer's Market in Remsenburg in the building they have there. Juanita was helping him, and I was just about to go out too when the bomb went off."

"You didn't notice it at all?" Castle asked.

"There were boxes near the dumpster, that's probably where it was," Lily replied. She sighed and said, "Luckily we were far from it as Pablo hates carrying the produce too far."

"We'll have to look at the security cameras in the back Lils," Brad told his wife as he took her hand and kissed the back of it.

"Do whatever you need to," Lily replied. She sighed and said, "That's all I have."

"That's fine," Brad assured her.

"He's right, as long as those cameras work then I think we have that for more evidence," Beckett said in the same tone.

"Mrs. Davis?" the nurse said, knocking on the door. "A Miss Hahn just came with this bag."

"Oh, thank you," Lily said. "Anne's a life saver," she said to her husband with a smile. To Castle and Beckett she told them, "Anne got my spare clothes from my locker at the restaurant, so I can go now."

"Bernier let me know CSU is looking around and he can work with Scarsi and Coupe," Brad said while he was helping Lily off the bed.

"Are you going to stop working today?" Beckett asked.

"No, I'm going to lunch with her and then I'll be heading back but only for a little," Brad answered. He looked at the door to the bathroom where his wife had gone and said, "I feel like hovering."

"You should," Beckett said, smiling at her husband.

"And we're going to go over to the café to have lunch with Eliza and Jim," Castle told him. "Can we tell them about your news?"

"Go ahead; we're going to send out an e-mail to everyone else. And we're also picking up Eve and Jake for the rest of the day; we want to tell them and just be with them since they've been worried about us. And I'll call you when I go back in," Brad said. "We're going home for now."

"I'll be staying in, they told me to take it easy," Lily said as she'd come back outside by then.

"I thought you were okay?" Beckett asked.

"Oh, I am," Lily assured them. "I fell from the force of the bomb; they just want me to rest and make sure I'm okay."

"Then let's hope you are," Castle said as his wife was hugging the woman.

"I should be," Lily replied simply. "Go and have lunch, we want to see our kids."

Nodding Castle and Beckett thanked Brad for their chance to go with their family for lunch before they left the two to wait for a nurse with a wheelchair.

When she glanced back at them Beckett smiled when she saw her friend was embracing Brad tightly and she said, "I'm so glad they're alright."

"Me too," Castle said with a smile as they stepped into an elevator car. "And another baby around? Should be interesting."

"Guys," Brad said suddenly as they were about to step outside the lobby a minute later. When they turned he explained, "Lils is nearly out but she wanted me to get you guys to hold on."

Castle and Beckett shared a look but didn't say anything; as they knew he wouldn't explain until Lily was with them; and then looked over to the doors before the woman was wheeled out by the same nurse they'd spoken to.

"Oh good you managed to catch them," Lily said when she spotted them together.

"Do you mind if we stay here for the moment?" Brad asked the nurse. "I'll take the wheelchair back once I get her in the car." When the woman nodded he thanked her before she left them, and he then said, "There's something Lils and I talked about before you guys came in."

"We want you two to be this baby's godparents," Lily continued when her husband looked at her.

"We'd love to be," Beckett said, bending down the best she could to hug her friend. "That means so much."

"Well you asked us to be your baby's godparents," Brad commented as he and Castle were letting go of each other's hands after shaking them. "It only seemed right to ask."

"Since we were best friends with each other before we met our spouses," Lily said.

"Thank you for that," Beckett said. "But for now, go get your kids and tell them they're going to have a sister."

"Or another in Jake's case," Castle commented.

"He won't care," Brad said. "Actually, they have asked us if we'd ever have another kid."

Pulling away from another hug Beckett told Lily, "They should be happy. And you too; you won't have to hide it anymore."

"I know," Lily said as Brad then left them so he could get his car. "Do you know how hard it was to hide my stomach under my double-breasted jacket in the kitchen?"

"I can imagine, plus from your husband," Beckett said.

With a sigh Lily then said, "I know, I was… an idiot but I wasn't sure what Brad would say."

"He seems insanely pleased," Castle replied. "Though I have to ask are you going back to your house in the squad car?"

"We can," Lily said, watching as her husband drove up in it. She smiled at them and said, "Go we-"

"Wait, come to our house for dinner," Castle said suddenly. He then looked at his wife pointedly and told her, "Since we're going to be the godparents we'll hold it for you. And we'll have David and Rebecca with their girls."

"If you don't mind," Lily said slowly.

"Mind what?" Brad asked, walking up to them.

Castle explained his idea and then said, "It's not a problem, we were talking about doing that anyway."

"Okay, if the Fosters can be there too then by all means," Brad said. When he saw Beckett looked like she was going to speak he hurriedly told her, "I can take off; everyone at the station will force me to once they know."

"Then be over at five since the kids have school, we'll eat at six," Castle told them before he and Beckett started to say their goodbyes to the couple.

As they were walking to their car Beckett said, "Catering?"

"Yes," Castle said. "Which I'll do right now."

"I'm texting my dad so I'll drive," Beckett told him. "Hopefully he can get Eliza to go right away."

"As long as he tells her we'll be there they'll be there waiting for us," Castle said before his wife laughed softly and they continued together to the parking lot so they could see their youngest daughter again.

* * *

"Grandpapa I'm hungry," Eliza was saying to Jim when they had entered the house.

"I know so am I, but I need to see where we can go exactly," he replied. He looked at her and asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yep, I know Mommy and Daddy are working on that," Eliza replied. She then said, "What about Max and Molly?"

"They're fine," Jim replied. "When it happened I was with them in the library; reading; and we didn't hear it that loud so they're okay."

"Good," Eliza said in relief before she began to pet all the dogs, hugging them as well.

Watching her with a smile Jim was getting his phone out of his pocket so he could text his daughter to see if they were ready to go to lunch yet. Just as he was about to he received a message and after reading it said, "I know where we can go."

"Did Mommy and Daddy say it was okay?" Eliza asked as her grandfather picked her up.

"They did," Jim replied.

"Grandpapa?" Eliza asked.

"Yes?" he replied as he was putting her into her car seat.

"Will you carry me too when the baby's here?" Eliza asked.

"Of course, someone needs to sometimes," Jim replied.

"Are you gonna stay when the baby's here?" Eliza said.

"I will for… oh a few weeks," Jim said once he was in the driver's seat. Once he was driving he checked on the little girl and saw that she was watching him. "Did you mean when am I going to move in?" he asked. When she nodded he smiled slightly and then said, "Not just yet honey but I'll move here as soon as I retire."

"Good," Eliza said. She was startled when the car stopped, and she looked around before she saw her parents walking over to her. "Mommy! Daddy!" she cried eagerly.

"Hey sweetheart," Castle said as he opened the door. He helped her out and let her hug him before he kissed her cheek saying, "Did we surprise you?"

"Yeah but are you gonna come home now?" Eliza asked.

"Not just yet," Beckett said before her daughter was leaning over to hug her.

"What was that explosion Mommy?" Eliza suddenly said, remembering hearing it when she had gone back inside her classroom with her classmates after recess.

Pausing for a moment Beckett said, "That was at Lily's restaurant." She wasn't surprised when the little girl's eyes widened, and she told her, "She's fine but when we went to see her at the hospital she and Brad had some news for us." When her father looked at her too she smiled and said, "They're going to have a baby."

"They are?" Jim asked, obviously taken aback by that.

"They are, she's a month behind Kate," Castle said. He then realized how that wording sounded and he told his wife, "I don't mean this is a race."

"I know," Beckett said with a slight smile. She then leaned over and kissed his cheek before they entered the café and she paused before she said, "Wait, you heard the explosion?" looking at Eliza.

"Yeah, Jules and Mari were yelling for everyone," the little girl told her. "But is the baby okay?"

"We've got things mixed up love," Castle told his wife. "Let's order and sit and get things straightened out."

Though she was concerned about their oldest; aware already that he was too; Beckett nodded and then took Eliza's hand before they stepped up to order. Once they were finished she left Castle and her father to wait before taking the little girl to their table so she could talk to her.

"After we heard it," Eliza said quickly. "We were supposed to go inside but then we heard yelling and I knew it was Jules," she added before recalled what she'd done next.

* * *

 _"Eliza!" Mrs. Hughes called to the little girl as she ran out of the classroom and down the hall._

 _Though she knew she would probably get into trouble Eliza didn't stop until she was at the bottom of the stairs, looking up. "Jules!" she cried up to her when she saw her big sister was at the top with Mari._

 _"Lizzy? What're you doing you should be in your classroom," Julia said when she spotted her. "Are your teachers there?"_

 _"Yeah," Eliza said, looking over at her classroom._

 _Going down the stairs as fast as she could Julia grabbed her sister's hand in passing before they were followed by Mari. "Mrs. Hughes," she said, breathing heavily. "There was an explosion, around downtown."_

 _"We heard, how do you know?" the teacher asked._

 _"We saw from the top of the fire escape outside," Julia replied, motioning to herself and Mari._

 _"Yeah, there was smoke," the little girl said._

 _"Someone will let the police know," Mrs. Hughes replied. "For now, you three should get to your classrooms." When the sisters exchanged a look she said, "Your parents will be fine I'm sure."_

 _Eliza tried not to roll her eyes; since that wasn't what she and her sister were worried about; but instead she said, "Can I talk to my sister just a little bit?"_

 _The teacher was obviously going to say no but when Eliza looked at her pleadingly; Julia as well; she nodded and then said, "Not for too long, I'll come out if you are."_

 _"Thank you, Mrs. Hughes," the three girls said at the same time._

 _As soon as they were alone Eliza looked around the hall and said, "It's kay Alfred, you can come over here now."_

 _Mari shivered heavily as there was a near blast of cold air and she looked at Eliza and Julia, seeing they were smiling at what looked like a bunch of mist. She stepped over to Julia, taking her friend's hand tightly._

 _"Can you say?" Eliza was asking._

 _"Where it was," Julia said as they heard the man asking what she meant._

 _"Oh no," Eliza gasped, looking at her sister._

 _"What?" Mari asked, worried at the tone of her voice._

 _"It was at Lily's restaurant but she's okay," Julia replied. When the spirit left she said, "I guess you'll hear first."_

 _"Yeah," Eliza said. "Do you gotta go?" she then asked her sister._

 _"I do," Julia replied, looking over at the door to her sister's room. She hugged her tightly and said, "Have fun with Grandpapa."_

 _"I will," Eliza said before she rushed to the room before Mrs. Hughes could come out to send them on their separate ways._

* * *

"Well, I guess you can say you definitely had an interesting day in class," Beckett commented. She smiled when her daughter nodded rapidly, and she leaned over, kissing her cheek. "But Lily is alright and everyone else at the restaurant too."

"Good," Eliza said firmly as she and her sister had been to the restaurant many times before; both to eat and visit the kitchen. "What about the baby?"

"Well I guess I can tell you now they found out, it's a girl," Beckett replied, smiling at her husband as he and her father were approaching them.

With a gasp Eliza said, "The baby is gonna have a best friend! Our baby," she added quickly at the end to clarify.

"Maybe," Beckett said with a smile.

"Did they pick a name?" Eliza asked as her father helped her onto her chair.

"I don't think so," Castle commented before they started to eat. After a bit he then said to his father in law and Eliza, "We're going to host a dinner for them tonight at our house."

"I didn't have any plans," Jim said, shaking his head. "Is anyone else coming?"

"Just the Fosters," Beckett said.

"You talked to them already?" Jim asked.

"I texted them while Kate was driving us here," Castle replied. "But we would like to know how your day at school went," he directed to Eliza.

"'Cause everyone's gonna be at our house?" the little girl asked.

"Exactly," Beckett replied.

"Kay," Eliza said. She talked about learning some addition before they learned more about numbers before they listened to music and drums until recess.

"You have them going to a nice school," Jim commented.

"Next year she'll be looking at some artwork," Beckett said.

"I wanna see that," Eliza said with a nod and a smile. "Are you gonna come home with us Mommy?"

"I'm not sure," Beckett said honestly, knowing she meant if she and Castle would have time to before the chief called them back. "We need to see if Brad needs us okay?"

"Kay, but after where are we gonna go?" Eliza asked.

"We can stay here for a little," Jim said them. "Let her visit with you," he added, nodding to the little girl.

"Okay," Beckett replied. She saw her husband was looking unsure and she said, "What?"

"Maybe you should sit over there when we do that," Castle replied, nodding over to the area of the café where there were armchairs.

"That's fine," Beckett said easily with a smile at him. "So what about you Dad?"

"Oh, billiards and talking," Jim answered.

"Did you win?" Eliza said interestedly as she hadn't asked him that before though she'd been wondering.

"We weren't really playing to win," Jim replied. "Though the first time we did compete."

"That means he won," Beckett said, smiling at her father. "Mom always hated when you did that."

"I would play cards, darts or billiards and never really told Johanna how it turned out," Jim began, speaking to his son in law. "It would irritate her, and she always said…"

"You're modest to a fault," Beckett supplied for him, squeezing his hand.

"Eliza-" Castle began when the little girl climbed off her chair. He helped her; as he could see she was determined; and watched her hurry around to her grandfather.

"Thank you honey," Jim said as he took her on his lap and then kissed her forehead. "What about your food."

"She's finished," Beckett said, smiling as Eliza snuggled against him closely.

"Mommy can we get billiards?" the little girl asked as her father was cleaning up their dishes.

"Your daddy has asked me the same thing," Beckett replied, placing her hand on her stomach with a smile. "And we might."

"What?" Castle asked as he was walking back to them after taking everything.

"Maybe, we should look at the parlor," Beckett replied.

"Great, then I wouldn't need a man cave," Castle said, leaning over and kissing her cheek to her soft laugh. They went together over to the armchairs since they were finished and Brad still hadn't contacted them. After they were sitting he watched as Eliza went straight to her mother and then placed her hand on her abdomen before she started to speak happily.

"Did you tell the baby she's going to have a friend?" the little girl asked hopefully.

"No because we have to wait and see when she grows up if she'll be friends with Brad and Lily's baby," Beckett explained to her.

"Oh… kay," Eliza said before she sighed. She then smiled and said, "Can we play now?"

"Yes," Beckett replied with a smile before leaning over and kissing her temple. "Go ahead and get the checkers board."

"Great after playing chess with Mari last night I really want to teach her to play," Castle said.

"I think her sister told her we did that," Beckett replied. "Will you play with her Dad?"

"I'll play with her at home if she wants," Jim said as he shook his head. "You two play with her now."

With a nod Beckett let Castle take the checker board that Eliza brought back, holding her daughter while he was setting the game up in front of them. While she watched him her mind quickly went back to the day with Julia she'd been thinking of earlier. And she hoped she and her husband would have time to play with their youngest for just a little bit longer before they went back to the case as she wanted as much time as they'd had with their oldest that day since she couldn't stop recalling while they began to play.

* * *

 _"Found you!" Julia cried out with a heavy giggle as she grabbed Castle's hand._

 _"I've hidden there before," Beckett said as she walked over to the two at the small closet by the table. "I guess she remembered me doing that."_

 _"I guess so," Castle replied. "Okay so who wants to be it next?"_

 _"Isn't it you?" Julia asked him._

 _"He doesn't want to play that anymore," Beckett said in amusement as she watched him._

 _"There has to be something else we can play," Castle said, looking at Julia._

 _The little girl thought for a moment before she finally said, "I know," before she hurried over to her toys and she looked around before she stopped and frowned._

 _"What is it?" Beckett asked, wondering why she was making a face._

 _"I don't know," Julia finally admitted._

 _"Should we go outside?" Castle asked his girlfriend._

 _With a brief smile Beckett said to her daughter, "Do you want to do that?"_

 _Shaking her head firmly Julia said, "I wanna stay inside here Mommy."_

 _"Alright," Beckett said with another smile. "We'll stay inside but why don't we play something we haven't for a while?"_

 _"What?" Julia asked interestedly. When her mother motioned to her she rushed to her and listened to her whisper into her ear. She widened her eyes when she heard what she wanted to do and looked over at Castle._

 _"He will, go," Beckett told her reassuringly._

 _"Kay," Julia said before leaving for her room in a rush and hoping her mother was right as she went._

 _"What is it?" Castle asked his girlfriend when they were alone._

 _"You'll see," Beckett replied easily._

 _"Here Mommy," Julia said, coming back out to them. She went over to Castle and said, "Wanna come to my tea party?" shyly._

 _"I would love to, and I haven't done that in a while with you," he told her with a wide smile._

 _"Thank you," Julia said, still shyly._

 _"You're welcome, should we help your mom set things up?" Castle asked as Beckett was beginning to do that._

 _"Yeah," Julia said with a smile before they went over to help her mother get all the things she had in her set out on the blanket her mother had set down_

 _"Okay, now we can prepare," Beckett said when they'd finished._

 _"Pre… didn't we just do that?" Castle asked. He studied her face and then said, "You do something else now don't you?"_

 _"We do," Beckett said._

 _"Let's show!" Julia exclaimed happily._

 _"We will because he needs to help us," Beckett said before she touched his arm as he was looking down at the blanket._

 _"You don't have a teapot," Castle commented. When she squeezed his arm that time he went after her to the kitchen and watched her bring out a kettle from one of the cabinets and he said, "We're having actual tea?" as he smiled._

 _"Yes," Beckett replied._

 _"Mommy puts lots of milk in mine," Julia commented._

 _"Cambric tea," Beckett said. "It's mentioned in-"_

 _"The_ Little House on the Prairie _books, I know," Castle interrupted her as he went to get some milk from the fridge and then sugar. "Milk, sugar with just a little itty bit of tea."_

 _"It's good," Julia piped up with a smile._

 _"It is, Alexis had me make a whole lunch using stuff in those books," Castle said. "The fried apples 'n onions were interesting but luckily I found a recipe."_

 _"We can try that one day," Beckett said as her daughter turned to her. "But don't ask me to make hominy."_

 _"Alexis let me skip that one," Castle said with a laugh before she was getting the kettle off the stove. "Since it would have been a little difficult."_

 _"Mommy says lye hurts your hands," Julia said as she watched her mother steep the tea before she poured out a mug for her and started the cambric tea._

 _"Definitely," Castle said. "No, we had some ham and mashed sweet potatoes and the apples 'n onions with some cambric tea to drink."_

 _"Dessert?" Beckett asked._

 _"Vinegar pie which was not too bad," Castle replied. "Are we ready?"_

 _"Almost," Beckett told him. "And I like that menu, we should do that one time with her and Alexis," she said as she grabbed some almonds, peanut butter crackers and small triangles of chocolate._

 _"Just let me know and I'll start cooking," Castle replied._

 _"You mean we will," Beckett said before they took everything over to the blanket. She poured out the tea for herself and Castle in the mugs before they got their snacks ready._

 _"This looks like a very nice spread," he said when they were finished._

 _"Can we start?" Julia asked hopefully._

 _"Yes," Beckett said simply. She picked up her cup and said, "Cheers?"_

 _"Cheers," Julia said eagerly, tapping her mug against her mother's. "Cheers," she said bashfully to Castle. When he tapped his cup to hers she then took a sip of her cambric tea and then said, "Can I have my friends come too? They're late Mommy."_

 _"Oh of course, I'm surprised they are you did invite them," Beckett said before she watched as her daughter left for her room. "Do not tell the boys about this," she said._

 _"I wouldn't dream of it because it'd be hypocritical of me saying you did this knowing I did this a number of times with Alexis," Castle replied with a smile. "Come here," he then said, motioning to her._

 _Beckett leaned over, trying not to smirk at the obviousness of what he wanted, sharing a kiss with him before they slowly parted and she smiled before saying, "You're too easy to read."_

 _"Concerning that…" Castle began before he trailed off and looked over at Julia who was walking over to them. "Oh, there are our other guests," he said as she had her stuffed dolls in her arms. "How come you took a while?" he asked as he got up to help her._

 _With a smile Julia said, "I had to tell Kauai and that I will tell him a story since he can't come too."_

 _"Good idea," Beckett said, watching the two with a smile as they were putting the animals around the blanket. Once they were sitting again she said, "We have some time until dinner, but you only get a little bit of each sweetie," to her daughter._

 _"I know, that's kay Mommy I'm still happy," Julia said in a rush._

 _"Are we talking to the other guests?" Castle asked them after sipping more of his Earl Grey tea._

 _"Yeah, Lindiana is gonna go to school very soon," Julia began._

 _"That sounds like fun, what grade is she in?" Beckett asked her._

 _"The first, she's bigger than me," Julia said._

 _"Are you nervous about going?" Castle asked, not minding addressing the stuffed horse._

 _"She says she is a little bit but she's happy to get to learn how to read and write," Julia said to them with a smile._

 _"You don't have anything to be scared of," Beckett said, addressing the horse herself then and knowing her boyfriend was looking at her as she spoke._

 _"She feels better now," Julia told them. "But she's gonna wait and see if she makes friends."_

 _"You will," Beckett said with a smile. "And what about Stitch?"_

 _"Stitch doesn't go to school but he's ready for Christmas," Julia said._

 _"And why are you ready for that?" Beckett asked the stuffed doll._

 _"He's ready for presents and cookies and everything!" Julia said exuberantly._

 _"I think Julia is too," Castle said to the doll._

 _"He knows," the little girl giggled._

 _"One chocolate sweetie," Beckett told her after they'd talked a little bit to Julia and the other dolls._

 _"Good," the little girl replied before she ate it, savoring the sweet of it. When she finished Julia went around to her mother and sat down on her lap, leaning against her._

 _"Want me to hold you like a baby again?" Beckett asked her daughter with a smile._

 _"Yes please," Julia said, smiling herself. She sighed as her mother did that and gently rocked her before she said, "What can we do now?"_

 _"We're going through everything really fast," Castle commented to his girlfriend._

 _"Oh, I know," Beckett said. "Can you think of anything you want to do?"_

 _"Um," Julia started to say before she gasped. "I can tell Kauai the story!"_

 _"Do you want us to be there with you too?" Castle asked._

 _"No, he wants me to tell it to him by myself," Julia answered. She looked up at her mother and said, "I wanna go now Mommy."_

 _"Okay, go ahead sweetie and have fun," Beckett replied._

 _"And I will think of something else I wanna do," Julia said as she stood up._

 _When they were alone Beckett said, "We should get this cleaned up."_

 _"I'll help," Castle told her with a nod before they gathered the plastic stuff that was part of the set. When the blanket was cleared and he folded it he followed Beckett over to the kitchen where they finished cleaning there. As soon as she had her hands dry he took her hand and then pulled her over to the couch where he pulled her onto his lap._

 _"Oh, you got the idea watching her, didn't you?" Beckett said teasingly as she wrapped her arms around his neck._

 _"No, I just wanted to be closer than sitting side by side would have been," Castle answered. He then kissed her deeply before their tongues were instantly meeting and they held onto each other as tightly as they could. He wasn't sure how long they kept that up as well as how many kisses they exchanged but finally they parted, and he breathed out heavily through swollen lips._

 _"I'm sorry we have to stop," Beckett said to him apologetically as she gently ran her thumb over his lower lip._

 _"It's alright, this was… not too bad," Castle replied with a smile before he held her close to him. He kissed her gently on the lips that time before he heard bare feet coming down the hall. He was surprised when Beckett didn't get off him when Julia appeared but watched her getting up as the little girl ran straight to her._

 _"Did you think of what you wanted to do?" Beckett asked while she picked up her daughter and placed her on her hip._

 _"Yeah," Julia said before she whispered in her ear._

 _Castle watched as the two disappeared then smiling as they went into his girlfriend's office. He was tempted to ask what they were going to do but knew he would need to wait, telling himself that at least they'd be back out in the living room soon enough for him to know. He shook himself of his thoughts as he heard them returning and prepared himself to see what Julia had decided for them to play next._

 _"You better explain," Beckett told her daughter, unable to help smiling at the expression on her boyfriend's face at what Julia was holding._

 _"Mosaic!" the little girl exclaimed._

 _"Oh, I thought we were going to be painting again," Castle commented._

 _"On colored paper?" Beckett asked._

 _"You never know," Castle replied. "You have pre-cut paper?" he asked._

 _"No," Beckett replied. "I cut it for her."_

 _"She cut a lot," Julia said quickly._

 _"I can tell," Castle replied with a smile on his face as he could see how delighted she was. "What are you going to make?"_

 _"She's just going to put the papers down," Beckett said as Julia was busy looking into the bag of cut up paper._

 _"Good idea, mind if I join you?" Castle asked. "Your fridge might be covered," he told his girlfriend._

 _"It has been before," Beckett replied easily. "Julia?" she then said to get her daughter's attention. "Can Castle join us?"_

 _"Kay," Julia said, smiling at him._

 _"Thanks," Castle said before he grabbed a sheet of lighter blue paper. "You too?" he asked as Beckett was taking some plain white paper._

 _"Mmm-hmm," she said simply in response. Beckett looked over at her boyfriend and with a smile said, "I'm not going to just sit here."_

 _"She asked you to make something didn't she?" Castle asked in amusement._

 _"She did but I had already planned on making something," Beckett told him firmly. "Let me shake out the papers sweetie," she then directed to her daughter._

 _"Kay," Julia said eagerly. "This is my favorite part," she told Castle seriously before they watched her mother shaking out the cut papers onto the table in between them._

 _"I thought these were just pieces of construction paper," Castle commented as he looked at it._

 _"I got her some origami paper to use too," Beckett replied with a slight smile. "As well as some regular paper with patterns."_

 _"I like your imagination," Castle said._

 _Beckett smiled and said, "Thank you but Julia picked out the patterns herself."_

 _"Then I like yours," Castle told the little girl but saw she wasn't really paying attention to them, focusing on the papers. "I guess we should get started," he said._

 _"I think so," Beckett said with a smile as he'd been talking to her. They were silent then; because Julia was; and she put out the papers that she chose as Castle was doing the same. She was working for a while before she felt her daughter tugging her sleeve and she said, "Are you ready?"_

 _"Yeah," Julia said as she nodded her head. With her mother's help she pasted down the papers she'd set in place until they were all set. "Do you like it?" she asked her and Castle._

 _"I do," Beckett said before she looked at her boyfriend and saw he was giving Julia the thumbs up._

 _Giggling the little girl said, "Now yours Mommy. And you too Castle."_

 _"Alright let's get this set," he replied to that moving around some papers before setting them down with the ones already in place. "I'm ready," he told the two._

 _"So am I," Beckett replied though she was already beginning to paste the pieces on her paper. Julia helped her and as soon as she was finished she said, "Are you done?"_

 _"I am, should we… okay," Castle said, about to ask her if she wanted to show them to each other at the same time. But she had slid her picture across before he could finish and said, "Nice."_

 _"Mommy likes that color," Julia told him, pointing to some blue pieces her mother had used with green ones._

 _"I know, and you did a great job with that," Castle told her._

 _"And yours?" Beckett asked him._

 _Julia looked at the paper that Castle slid over to them and she smiled telling her mother, "No colors."_

 _"I wanted to keep it monochromatic; to make your guys' stand out," he told the two since he'd picked out either black and white pieces or grays._

 _"It will do that," Beckett said with a slight smile on her face. "What do you think?" she asked her daughter._

 _"I like it," Julia replied._

 _"Well… wow, that took a while," Castle said as he stood up with them and checked the time at the same time._

 _"Do we need to order?" Beckett asked him as she was busy getting magnets for their pictures._

 _"I'll take care of that," Castle said easily as he went over to the phone to order their pizza for dinner. While he was doing that he watched his girlfriend and Julia get the three pictures up on the fridge with the ones they'd painted earlier before he went over to them as soon as he was done._

 _"Do you like them?" Julia asked as she looked up at him._

 _"I do, more colors," Castle commented._

 _Julia smiled and then said, "But not yours."_

 _"No but the rest of them have enough," Castle commented. He then said to his girlfriend, "We'll get the pizza in about a half hour."_

 _"Great," Beckett said. "Now we just need to fill in a half hour."_

 _"Pull ups?" Castle suggested. When she shoved him away from her playfully he laughed and said, "Maybe not."_

 _"I don't think so," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. "I was thinking instead of starting a movie."_

 _"Which we'll finish after…" Castle said slowly._

 _Beckett smiled and told him, "After dinner."_

 _"Okay, sounds great to me," Castle replied before he followed her over to the couch. He sat down while she and Julia were looking over the little girls' movies and once they were coming back to him he asked, "You found something?"_

 _"Yep," Julia replied easily._

 _Castle glanced at his girlfriend who merely smiled at him and he said, "I'm excited to see what it is." When the movie began he was startled when it was the movie_ Annie _._

 _"She loves this," Beckett replied as she watched her daughter slide down the couch to get a little closer to the TV._

 _"I can tell," Castle replied, smiling as Julia was watching the movie closely._

 _At one point Beckett felt her boyfriend's arm wrap around her from behind before he gently pulled her back against him. She looked at him over her shoulder and smiled before leaning back against him, looking on at Julia while she was still watching the movie. The doorbell finally rang, and she watched her daughter jump slightly before she said as she stood, "It's just our dinner sweetie."_

 _"I remember," Julia said shyly before she watched as Castle kept her mother from walking over to the door._

 _"Castle-" she started to say._

 _"No, it's alright," he replied quickly before he checked to make sure it was in fact someone delivering their pizzas. Once he was Castle opened the door and paid before he went back into the apartment to find his girlfriend and Julia getting plates. "Not at the table?" he asked them._

 _"No," Beckett said simply. "Not tonight."_

 _"Okay," Castle said simply as he set the pizzas on the coffee table so he could lay out the blanket they'd used for the tea party. Once it was set and so were the plates and drinks he sat with them and said, "I'll definitely need to make dinner tomorrow."_

 _"Why?" Beckett asked._

 _"She needs some greens," Castle said, nodding to Julia._

 _"And the spinach… Julia," Beckett said firmly before she looked over at her daughter to find her trying to take off the spinach on her pizza slice._

 _"I'm kidding Mommy," Julia said hurriedly, smiling at her widely._

 _"I hope so, I thought you like those," Beckett replied. When her daughter nodded she then said, "That has to be different."_

 _Knowing she meant the word strange Castle nodded but then said, "Alexis didn't mind it… as long as it was with pizza of course."_

 _"Of course," Beckett said in amusement before they turned their attention to the little girl to find that she was taking another bite and then looking up at the two of them._

 _"What's wrong Mommy?" Julia asked worriedly._

 _"No, we're just watching you sweetie," Beckett said with a smile, brushing some of her hair behind her ear before she cupped her daughter's cheek gently._

 _"I guess you're enjoying your pizza," Castle commented with a smile as Julia pursed her lips for her mother to share a kiss with her._

 _"Mommy?" Julia asked._

 _"Yes?" Beckett replied, looking at her questioningly._

 _"Can we play a game after?" Julia said._

 _"You don't want to finish the movie," Beckett said. When her daughter shook her head no she smiled and then said, "Okay."_

 _"You don't want to?" Castle asked her. When his girlfriend looked at him he said, "Just checking."_

 _Shaking her head Beckett said, "No I'm glad she wants to play instead. And you?"_

 _"Oh no, I've watched the movie a number of times," Castle replied. "And I'm interested in seeing what exactly she wants to do."_

 _Beckett smiled and said, "So am I."_

 _Julia looked at the two as they were eating, and she smiled before she said, "I think I wanna play with Play-Doh again Mommy."_

 _"I thought you wanted to play a game," Castle said, smiling at her so she wouldn't think he was angry at the change._

 _"I wanna do that more," Julia said firmly._

 _"That's fine with me," Beckett said, smiling as well. "In fact, we have another two sets we can try out."_

 _"More baking?" Castle asked._

 _"Cooking," Beckett corrected. "Well, one of them is."_

 _"Oh, now I'm really intrigued," Castle said, looking over at Julia who was finishing the last of her pizza._

 _"I'm wondering how this will work out," Beckett then said. "Are you finished sweetie?"_

 _"Yeah," Julia said. When her mother nodded at her she got up and then went over to the kitchen with her plate and glass._

 _"We'll do something together more adult… someday," Beckett told Castle in a low tone. She saw that he was studying her, and she began to say, "I mean-"_

 _"Don't worry," Castle said while he stopped her with a squeeze to her hand as Julia was beginning to come over to them. "We're going to do that other stuff later. Adult," he said, just saying that one word._

 _Beckett couldn't really speak, merely nodding her head, before she turned her attention to her daughter. "We're ready now, can you get the sets?" she asked her. When Julia nodded eagerly she let her go before she got up with Castle and they made quick work of clearing the living room before they went back to Julia who was waiting for them._


	17. Over All Unrighteous Action (Part 2)

_"Is that it?" Castle asked._

 _"Yeah," Julia said with a smile. "Wanna order a pizza?" she said to him._

 _"I think so," Castle said. "What toppings do you have?"_

 _"Tomatoes," Beckett began as her daughter looked over at her questioningly. When Julia then looked at Castle she continued saying, "Mushrooms, olives, carrots, broccoli, pepperoni, basil and I think shrimp."_

 _"That's… a lot to choose from," Castle said, looking at the molds of the toppings. "How about some basil and pepperoni?"_

 _"Kay," Julia said. "Mommy will you help me?"_

 _"Yes, but Castle needs to too or else we won't be able to try your other set," Beckett told her._

 _"What do you need me to do?" he asked._

 _"The crust," Beckett said, sliding the can of lighter yellow to him._

 _"Right, I'd throw it up in the air but it'd just land right on my hair," Castle commented. When the little girl giggled heavily he smiled and then began to make the crust to his pizza in the plate that was part of the set, not surprised that Julia was watching him closely. "Is that good? I like my crusts a little thinner," he asked her once he was finished._

 _"That's good," Julia said. "Thank you."_

 _"You're welcome," Castle replied before he looked on as his girlfriend and Julia put the disc of red Play-Doh on the crust before he saw the tool that the little girl was picking up from the other items in the set._

 _"I think he wants to see what that is sweetie," Beckett said, stopping her daughter from getting Play-Doh to use._

 _"Is this for the cheese?" Castle asked when he looked at the red tool._

 _"It is," Beckett said before she watched Julia taking the 'grater' back from him. "And she wants to use it."_

 _"Alright but can I beg you to let me use that too?" Castle asked her._

 _"Kay," Julia said with a smile. She then pressed the Play-Doh through the tool before the 'cheese' fell on the red disc. "Lots of cheese?" she asked._

 _"That would be great," Castle said before she was handing the tool over to him. He took it with a smile and then pressed it through himself before he said, "Okay, you're already a good cook."_

 _"Why?" Julia asked in confusion._

 _"He thinks you're doing a good job so far," Beckett explained as she helped her daughter make the 'toppings' that he'd asked for._

 _Julia smiled a little shyly before she nodded and then hurried to finish the pizza before she cupped her hands over it._

 _Castle began to open his mouth to ask what she was doing before he stopped himself as she was blowing on it and then said, "Hand fired pizza; sounds great," looking at his girlfriend._

 _"Glad you think so," Beckett said, trying not to laugh as she'd had no idea her daughter was going to do that. "Is it ready?" she asked when Julia had stopped._

 _"Yeah," Julia said before she took the small pizza box that came with the set. She put the pizza in there and then closed the box saying, "There."_

 _"Thank you," Castle said, taking it seriously. "Can I interest the two of you to share this with me?" he asked them._

 _"I will," Julia said eagerly. She watched interestedly as he set the pizza back on the plate before he cut it with the roller that came with the set. "Can I do that?" she asked as he held the triangle shaped spatula._

 _"Of course," Castle replied, handing it over to her. He took the slice she handed him and smiled saying, "I can't wait to taste this."_

 _Julia giggled softly before she handed her mother a slice before she took another for herself and she pretended to eat it. She then looked at her mother, seeing her smiling back at her before she said, "Is it good."_

 _"Very, next time you'll have to make a pizza just for me," Beckett told her with a smile._

 _"It is, and next time I'm stealing a slice from that pizza," Castle commented._

 _Smiling widely Julia then said, "Can we do the other one now Mommy?"_

 _"Yes, but you need to help us put everything away," Beckett told her. When her daughter nodded seriously they got the Play-Doh back with the color it belonged to before she allowed Julia to take out the pieces for the next set._

 _"Ah, a haircut," Castle said as he studied the set on the table in between them. "So you'll be the barber?"_

 _"Can I?" Julia asked her mother._

 _"Well maybe we can take turns," Beckett replied. "There are three of them here or else you'll be very busy." She glanced at her boyfriend and then asked, "What?"_

 _"No… you want to do that?" Castle replied._

 _"I do," Beckett said carefully._

 _"Just checking," Castle said quickly as he followed her gaze over to her daughter and saw she was watching them. "Let's get started, these people need haircuts."_

 _With a smile Julia turned her attention to the figures to pick out the one she wanted before she started giving it hair._

 _After they had all had a turn with the set Castle and Beckett got things cleaned up while Julia was on her mother's lap, yawning widely as she watched them._

 _"I'll be back," Beckett said when they'd finished, looking on as her boyfriend stood and then took Julia from her._

 _"Are you gonna change me?" the little girl asked, slightly panicked._

 _"Oh no, just helping your mom," Castle replied before he handed Julia back to his girlfriend._

 _"Do I say goodnight now?" Julia asked._

 _"No, I'll come in when you're done," Castle told them before he sat down on the couch to watch her go. He sighed slightly and then went to the books on the shelves to his right, hoping he wouldn't have to wait for too long._

 _"Did you have a nice day?" Beckett asked her daughter while she was helping her out of her clothes._

 _"Yeah," Julia said with a smile, suddenly more awake. As soon as the last of her clothes were off she tried to stand on her head on the bed before she felt her mother grabbing her. "No," she said firmly._

 _"Sweetie," Beckett said as Julia rolled away from her. "You need to get some clothes on or you'll get cold." When her daughter shook her head and tried to stand on her head again she said firmly, "Julia."_

 _At that the little girl immediately stopped and then went to her mother who helped her get dressed. When she was done Julia wrapped her arms around her mother's neck and said, "Sorry Mommy."_

 _"I know sweetie, but I don't want you to be cold," Beckett told her as she wrapped her arms around her and picked her up at the same time she embraced her. She kissed the side of her head before carrying her into the bathroom to help her brush her teeth._

 _"Are we gonna spend the day with Castle tomorrow?" Julia asked her mother when they were going back out into her bedroom._

 _"I think so," Beckett replied. "Do you not want to?"_

 _"Yeah… no?" Julia said before she became obviously confused._

 _"You want to?" Beckett supplied. When her daughter nodded she sat on the edge of the bed and called out, "Castle she's ready for bed."_

 _"What are we gonna do?" Julia asked._

 _"Now or tomorrow?" Beckett replied._

 _"Um… tomorrow," Julia began._

 _Her attention going to the doorway Beckett saw Castle appearing there before she said, "Well we have time before lunch and the bakery-"_

 _"By the way, mind if we take something to go from there?" he asked her._

 _"Sure, for dinner?" Beckett asked._

 _"After, yes," Castle said before he smiled slightly when she rolled her eyes._

 _"I was going to say we can go ahead and go to the park," Beckett replied._

 _"Which?" Castle asked._

 _"Central, it's the closest to that bakery remember," Beckett reminded him._

 _"Can I go on the horsies?" Julia asked eagerly, having been listening closely to them._

 _"I think so," Castle said. When his girlfriend looked at him he explained, "Do you really think you can stop her from trying to get over there?"_

 _Giggling; as the last time she'd been at the park with her mother and also Castle she'd tried to sneak to the carousel; Julia said, "I know I was a bad girl Mommy, but I want to see some horsies."_

 _"Alright," Beckett said with a sigh. "But we'll take you; you're not going on your own." When her daughter nodded she said, "She's not tired now."_

 _"I could hear you, was she trying to run around naked?" Castle asked._

 _"Headstand," Beckett explained._

 _Laughing slightly Castle said, "Alexis would run around after her baths; not all the time but occasionally. That's how I stayed so fit."_

 _"Of course," Beckett said, shaking her head. "Oh, can you get her brush for me? I forgot it."_

 _"Why do you have to do that Mommy?" Julia asked her._

 _"Because if I let you go to bed without brushing it your hair is going to be a nest of rats," Beckett replied. When her daughter looked at her with wide eyes she smiled and said, "Your grandmama would tell me that. Thank you," she added when Castle handed the brush to her._

 _Watching her brush Julia's hair Castle commented, "Anything else we can do at the park?"_

 _"Walk around… the playground," Beckett said simply. "I don't really want to do anything too big."_

 _"Good idea," Castle said, wondering why he'd forgotten they couldn't really do much together; just in case they were recognized. "But hey if you two are staying the night we should stop at my place with your stuff and some games or whatever."_

 _"I'll keep the sets here," Beckett told him. "The games we should move over to your place; some of them."_

 _"I could buy duplicates," Castle said, glancing at Julia who was looking at him without moving her head._

 _Beckett shook her head and said, "We can take them back and forth." She wasn't sure why but the idea of having to shuttle things between two places wasn't really that appealing. She pushed that aside, unable to forget it was out necessity they had to do that, and she focused on finishing Julia's hair. She tested the length with her hand and asked, "Do you want to trim this or let it grow longer?"_

 _"Longer Mommy; please?" the little girl asked, turning to look at her._

 _"Alright," Beckett said with a smile before she was handing the brush over to her boyfriend for him to take back._

 _When he was in the bedroom again Castle saw that Julia was sitting on the bed and Beckett was standing next to it. "I need to say goodnight?" he asked. When she smiled and nodded he said, "Alright. Night Julia, I'll make something tomorrow. With real food not Play-Doh."_

 _Smiling, as she was getting tired again, the little girl said, "Night Castle, thanks for playing." Julia smiled slightly wider when he squeezed her shoulder gently and then went to the doorway._

 _Sitting next to her daughter Beckett gathered her in her arms and said, "I love you sweetie."_

 _"Love you Mommy, thank you for playing with me too," Julia told her._

 _"I was happy to," Beckett told her with a smile. She shared a kiss with her and then said, "Get some sleep you have a lot of walking tomorrow." When Julia merely smiled she had her lay down before pressing a kiss to her forehead and tucking her in. She sat on the edge of the bed, watching her daughter to make sure that she would fall asleep. Once Julia had she stood and then went over to her boyfriend who let her lead the way over to the kitchen where she started to make some coffee._

 _"Do you want to go out a little later?" Castle asked her as he leaned against the counter behind her. When she glanced over her shoulder at him he told her, "It won't take much time to do everything."_

 _"What are you thinking?" Beckett asked, turning around and studying him._

 _"I'd like to be able to play with her without being concerned," Castle confessed._

 _Beckett was about to comment on that when her brewer got her attention and she quickly handed him the mug before she started hers. "I wish we could do that too," she confessed._

 _"At the park you'll have to tell people who I am," Castle said, stirring some sugar quickly into his coffee._

 _"Her uncle," Beckett said. When he sighed she took his hand and squeezed it tightly saying, "This is only temporary Rick."_

 _"I realize that, but it doesn't make it any more palatable," Castle replied. He tugged on her hand and pulled her into a one arm embrace, tempted to kiss her if the machine hadn't chimed at that exact moment._

 _Beckett smiled at his sigh of frustration and kissed his cheek quickly before she went to get her coffee prepared. As she was finishing she wasn't surprised when her boyfriend stepped up to her and his arms wrapped around her from behind. "At least a couple sips," she told him teasingly, looking back at him over her shoulder._

 _With a smile Castle kissed at the junction of her shoulder and neck, feeling her shudder in pleasure before he let her go. Without a word he led her over to the couch where they sat, and he drew her onto his lap again._

 _"You didn't get enough before?" Beckett asked wryly though she didn't move except to wrap her arms around his neck. "Now we really aren't going to drink that coffee," she told him._

 _"I don't mind," Castle replied. "And I can always make more… tomorrow."_

 _"Of course," Beckett said with a smile before she leaned into him and they soon began to kiss. She slid her arms closed a little tighter around him, not surprised when he pulled her closer as well. She moved her hands up the back of his neck before gently stroking it until they needed to move apart. She sighed deeply and leaned over, pressing her forehead against his telling him, "I love you."_

 _Not surprised when her voice was incredibly soft Castle didn't reply to it at first, leaning over and gently kissing her on the lips before he pulled back enough to look into her eyes. "I love you too Kate," he told her seriously though he kept his voice low as well. He leaned into her, though only to press his forehead against hers, before he said, "Tomorrow…"_

 _"What?" Beckett asked, pulling away to look into his eyes. When he hesitated she said, "Whatever you want it can't be that bad."_

 _"No," Castle said, slightly laughingly. "I just wanted to let you know that I would like us to spend a little time together that night."_

 _"Another bath?" Beckett asked with a smile._

 _"If you'd like," Castle replied. "No suggestions just…"_

 _"_ Vmeste _?"_ _Beckett asked him._

 _"What?" Castle said, startled._

 _"I said together," Beckett said with a smile, not surprised he hadn't understood her Russian. "Would you like to learn?"_

 _Opening his mouth to answer Castle stopped when he heard Julia walking down the hall and he smiled seeing her rubbing one of her eyes. He felt his girlfriend getting up and he let her go so she could stand, following her._

 _"Are you okay sweetie?" Beckett asked her with a smile as she went over to her so she could pick her up._

 _"Yeah Mommy, I'm thirsty," Julia said sleepily._

 _"Alright, but after I get you some water you need to go right back to bed," Beckett told her, kissing her temple. She went over to the kitchen then and was startled when her boyfriend jogged ahead of her, getting a glass and some water. "Thank you," she said with a smile before she gave the cup to Julia._

 _The little girl took a few sips before she stopped and asked, "Are you in bed now Mommy?"_

 _"Not yet but very soon," Beckett replied, giving the glass to Castle and then going over to the bedrooms. "You though need to get more sleep."_

 _"Kay," Julia said with a sigh, leaning her head against her mother's._

 _Inside the little girl's bedroom Castle arrived there in time to see his girlfriend setting Julia down on her bed before kissing her forehead. He wasn't surprised when the little girl was fast asleep, and he let Beckett walk past him to go over to the living room again. "Okay?" he asked her._

 _"Yeah, I just…" Beckett started to say before she trailed off and smiled. She shook her head at her boyfriend's questioning look and said, "It's hard to believe sometimes," she said, keeping her voice down._

 _"But you don't regret it," Castle stated, wrapping his arm around her._

 _"No," Beckett said with another smile. She was ready for him when he kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around him tightly before they slowly parted. "And you?"_

 _"Me what?" Castle asked. He quickly realized what she was asking, and he quickly said, "I'm still here Kate and I'm already planning on spending the next three big holidays with you both."_

 _Leaning over and kissing him gently on the lips Beckett said, "Was it stupid of me to ask?"_

 _"Different circumstances," Castle said simply before he leaned over and brushed his lips to hers. "Alexis will be there," he told her._

 _"Good," Beckett said. "If my dad is going to be there then I'm hoping your family will be too."_

 _"They will," Castle replied. He held her a little closer and then murmured, "But for now…"_

 _Tilting her head just slightly Beckett took his kiss and held onto him as tightly as she could before she felt him clutching her to his body. She shuddered, as she could feel the beginnings of his arousal and she tried to break free though he wouldn't let her go. "Wait, Rick," she said._

 _His first name startled him enough to make him stop and Castle looked down at her before he breathed out and said, "Sorry."_

 _"No, it's alright, I don't blame you," Beckett told him with a smile. "But we should move this somewhere more private."_

 _"Right, I'll follow you," Castle said._

 _Since he let her go then Beckett took his hand and pulled him into her bedroom, letting him close and lock the door behind them before she wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could once more. She instigated their kiss and she clutched at him almost desperately before they were eventually parting for air._

 _Looking into her eyes Castle felt a rush in him at the sight of her and her swollen lips. He was tempted to take her to the bed that was so close to them but remembered what they'd had talked about earlier. It took him a moment, but he was finally able to get some control of himself before he spoke. "Come on," he told her as she looked at him a little questioningly, taking her hand gently and then pulling her with him into the bathroom as she followed him willingly._

* * *

With a final embrace Beckett watched Eliza rush to her father before they went over to their car in the parking lot. She glanced at her husband and said, "I feel bad."

"I know but she's a tough girl," Castle commented. "A lot like her mother."

Rolling her eyes Beckett was about to reply before she heard his text alert ringing. "I thought he was going to send… us home," she started to say before he frowned at the screen. "Code 9?"

"In red, let's go," Castle said before they hurried to their car. He drove them as fast as he could to the station where Brad was waiting for them. "It's not good news," he said as they got out.

"We got something," the chief said once the two had approached him.

"The footage?" Beckett asked as he had turned around as soon as he'd spoken; walking inside.

"Yes," Brad replied simply before he went straight to his office. "Not now," he said to Scarsi and Coupe who were in the room. "And I need to speak to them about the school bombing yesterday," he added, staying by the door as Castle and Beckett watched him.

When the two agents had left, eyeing them as they went, Beckett said once the chief had closed the door, "You didn't show them?"

"No," Brad said. "I couldn't not after…" he began before shaking his head. "Come on." He went around his desk before he let Beckett sit at his chair and then pressed play.

Watching the screen Castle saw an older man getting out of a car earlier in the morning two days before. He was going to comment on that when he looked at his friend before he stopped himself quickly as he saw the expression on Brad's face. Turning back to the computer he saw the man was walking over to the dumpster where the shadows swallowed him up before the chief paused it.

"He's here for about ten minutes," Brad told the two before he fast forwarded it. Playing it, he watched with them as the man got back into his car and then left. "That is Mathias McWilliams," he said.

"Who is he?" Beckett asked after exchanging a look with her husband.

"My partner when I first started patrol in Albany and… a good friend," Brad said with a heavy sigh.

"Conflict of interest?" Castle asked after he and Beckett were quiet for a moment.

"It might be and if it is then you two would be kicked out… rapidly," Brad replied. "But I haven't seen McWilliams in years, not since he retired about three years after I became an officer."

"Where does he live?" Beckett asked, standing up.

"Here," Brad said, reaching for the file next to his keyboard and handing it over to her.

Opening it Beckett read the basic information on the man and said, "Buffalo."

"Yeah, why he's here… I don't know," Brad said.

"Brad," Beckett said, setting the file back down on the desk. "How long have you been sitting on this?"

"Twenty minutes," the chief said, staring at her for a while before he then turned away. "I couldn't…"

"I know," Beckett replied. When he looked at her, appearing angry, she said, "My first partner," very simply.

"We don't have time for the story now," Castle said. "You need to find him and tell Scarsi and Coupe."

"Alright… alright," Brad said, nodding his head.

"He was a big help," Castle commented when he went over to the door to watch his friend walking through the bull pen to where the two agents were talking together.

"A mentor," Beckett said. "More than Royce was to me," she added. When her husband looked at her she said, "I had Patrick there for me too, I just recalled Royce more because Patrick went back to DC eventually."

With a nod Castle said, "What do you think?"

"Too easy," Beckett replied absently as she went back to the file and began to look through it.

"Too… oh, a set up," Castle replied. "I almost forgot the profile but… if he hasn't seen McWilliams in so long then why him exactly."

"Why his wife? Why the school?" Beckett replied. "It didn't matter the years…" she started to say before she trailed off.

"He helped with the bombing case," Castle and Beckett said at the same time.

"I'll get him," Castle told his wife before he went over to the doorway. Just before he could step out into the bullpen his friend was there and he said, "Did-"

"Coupe just reminded me," Brad said. "Eventually I called McWilliams in and he said we might want to look at a former police officer. It was rank with former law enforcement. It didn't help but it was a chance for us."

"Are they going to look for him?" Beckett asked.

"I had an APB out; he's driving a compact car that's silver," Brad replied. "Likely a rental and we have the last two of the plate and x and eight. If-" he began before Scarsi rushed into the office.

"They looked into the license plate and there are two that were stolen that match the picture from the footage," the agent told them in a rush. "A 2012 Leaf-"

"It's not that one," Castle interrupted.

"It's not," Scarsi said, glaring at him.

"That kind of car is still noticeable," Castle explained. "And would stand out if stolen."

"The other is a Prius…" Scarsi said before looking at his notebook he had with him.

"The v," Beckett said. When the men; except for her husband; looked at her she said firmly, "I know cars, it's that one."

"Yes," Scarsi finally said. "The owner said she was at the market and when she came out it was gone. That was three days ago but it was in West Babylon so of course your police didn't know about it."

"It could be gone by now," Castle said before he looked at his wife.

"Unless McWilliams is staying at a local hotel," Beckett added. "Since he's not from around here," she said.

"We'll be back," Brad said before he left with Scarsi.

"Look around the island," Beckett called out to them as she and her husband watched them go.

"Hopefully that'll work," Castle commented before he looked at his wife. He saw she had her hand on the small of her back and was about to speak when she turned her head to him and with a slight smile answered his unasked question as she went to the murder board at the same time.

"It hurts but I think it's because I've been rushing around," Beckett commented. She glanced at her husband and said, "I'm not going home."

Sighing Castle said, "At least it's our last case until spring."

Beckett couldn't help smiling slightly before she heard running back to the office. "You found him," she said when Brad appeared in the doorway.

"The car and it's at the same hotel Easter was," the chief said grimly.

"Oh god, not again," Castle groaned as they left to follow his friend.

"Most likely, you two don't need to-" Brad began to say.

"No, we're coming with you," Castle said firmly. When his friend nodded they walked together out to the parking lot and he and Beckett got in their car, waiting for Brad and the agents' cars to leave before he drove after them. "I'm trying not to think of what we'll find there; what we'll most likely find," he said once they were on their way.

"I have to wonder if Brad thought of checking that hotel," Beckett commented as she didn't want to think about that either.

"Maybe, and if they were both staying there-" Castle began.

"The actual bomber brought them here," they said together.

With a nod Beckett said, "I'd thought the same thing. We; he; needs to check on the other guests here."

Castle nodded himself before he looked over at the hotel they were approaching. He was slightly surprised when they went past the lobby when he realized that Brad was already aware of where they were going and where McWilliams was. When they stopped he parked a little away from his friend; knowing he was going to ask them to do that; and he said, "Should we even get out?"

"He's coming over now," Beckett replied as she looked out his window.

"Hey, you two stay put around the car," Brad told them as his friend rolled down the window. "I'll call you up if I can."

"Will you be alright?" Beckett asked him, recalling when she had seen Royce after he'd been killed.

"Yeah, McWilliams would chide me that I still have a job to do," Brad said firmly as he reached back for his holster to prepare his gun. "I'll wave down." When the two nodded he left them, leading Scarsi and Coupe down to the room as quietly as they could move.

Getting out Beckett watched the three men closely, leaning against the side of the car as her husband had told her they should do just in case. While she normally would have teased him about his concern she was more so about Brad. They soon stopped, and she nearly held her breath as they announced themselves.

Castle, watching with her, braced himself as Brad kicked open the door and seeing them go inside the room he reached for his wife's hand to tap out on her palm, ' _He should not go inside_ ,' in Morse code.

' _I know_ ,' Beckett responded. ' _But you know you know he would not keep from doing his job_.' She shared a look with him before they turned their attention back to the room.

A second later Castle saw his friend coming back out and he shared a look with his wife before they looked back at him. "Are-" he started to say.

"Castle go ahead, I'll send Beckett in a second," Brad replied.

"Sure," Castle said, trying not to feel too jealous of his wife.

"You know he is your friend," Beckett said when they were alone.

"I know but…" Brad began to say.

Sighing, as she realized then why he wanted to talk to her Beckett said, "What did you find?"

"He was killed but they tried to set it up as a suicide," Brad said as he leaned back against the car. "There was a note that said he set up Easter because he always thought it was him but couldn't prove it. That it _had_ been Easter back in Albany."

"How?" Beckett asked.

"Gunshot," Brad replied, knowing what she was talking about. He sighed heavily and then said, "Why me? Why hurt those I've been close to; love?"

"The profile is likely right," Beckett said. "What about this idea of an officer that was fired?"

"We looked through everyone," Brad replied as Castle was walking back to them. "Although I guess we can take a second look," he said with a sigh.

"That would be a good idea," Beckett said, placing her hand on his shoulder briefly.

"Go check out the room," Brad commented, motioning to it.

"Actually, Scarsi and Coupe have something you need to see," Castle said.

Glancing at his friend and seeing the serious expression on his face Brad then hurried over to it though he knew Beckett couldn't run. He paused just before he reached the doorway and turned to them saying, "Bad?"

"It will be for us," Castle replied. He wasn't surprised when his wife and friend looked at him in confusion before they went inside together where the agents were standing, waiting for them.

"We found it inside the bathroom," Coupe said first.

"We're sorry," Scarsi added.

Not surprised when the chief gave them a confused look Beckett glanced at the body on the bed; nearly in the exact same position as Easter had been; before she followed Brad to the doorway to the bathroom. "Oh…" she said when she saw the shower and bathtub.

"For the love of…" Brad said in annoyance before he walked carefully through Castle and Beckett.

Hearing the chief haranguing the two agents Castle murmured to his wife, " _Set up_."

" _If_ Thayer _says it was a murder, yes_ ," Beckett replied at the sight of the different components on a plank of wood on the tub. Those components she knew could easily be for a bomb and she wasn't surprised at the chief's reaction. When she noticed her husband was looking at her questioningly she shrugged and said, " _Just in case they're right_."

Castle rolled his eyes, knowing she meant the agents before Scarsi was suddenly yelling and making them both jump before they went back to the bedroom.

"I thought you knew better Davis," the agent was nearly snarling at the chief. "Look at the evidence; that note is in his handwriting you said."

"It is," Brad breathed out slowly.

"Also, how can you disprove what we just saw in the bathroom?" Coupe added, sounding irritated.

"That could have been planted," Beckett said. When the two agents glared at her she crossed her arms over her chest and told them, "Wait for the ME, if you have a suicide then by all means close your case. If he calls murder, then you're not finished."

"Get out," Coupe snapped at her.

"You-" Castle started to say angrily, stepping towards the man.

"Castle, don't," Brad said, going to him to stop him from getting any closer.

"Get them both out," Scarsi added. "They've done nothing for this case."

"I can call-" Brad started to say in annoyance.

"Guys," a voice said then from the doorway. "Don't make me have to look at another body," Thayer said once everyone was looking at him. When he saw them relaxing he nodded and said, "Thank you, should step out so I can look at this."

Castle stayed close to his wife and Brad as they walked after the agents, watching with them as CSU walked inside. "What do you think?" he asked his friend.

"It'll be murder," Brad replied. "But we might have an issue with them believing it."

"Not if Thayer says it," Beckett commented, watching the door to see if someone would let them know that the ME had seen how McWilliams had died.

"Chief," Thayer said a few minutes later, coming to the doorway. He glanced at the two agents and held up his hand before he said, "I'm going to tell you first because you need to know."

"It can't be suicide," Brad said as he could quickly tell what the man was going to say.

"I'm afraid so, the stippling against his temple is indicative of it," Thayer said. "And the grip on the gun works for a suicide as well."

"When did he…" Beckett started to say.

"I can place time of death around six to eight this morning," Thayer replied. He turned his attention to the chief and said, "I was told he was your friend, I'm so sorry."

Shaking his head Brad turned away and then went over to the two agents saying, "Alright, it was McWilliams," his tone dull.

"He can confirm that?" Coupe said. When the chief nodded he said, "I'm sorry-"

"So am I, he was a big help to us in Albany but…" Scarsi said before trailing off.

"Not really," Brad said. "I'll send them home," he added before he waited for the two men to go over to the room. When they were he then turned to Castle and Beckett and said, "I think-"

"This isn't over Brad," Beckett replied easily. "Just give Thayer the chance to do a full procedure and this case will be open again."

"Yeah…" the chief said with a sigh.

"Don't let them know," Castle said quickly. "After that argument in the room… better you let them think you're with them."

"Alright," Brad said finally before he nodded. "I'm not sure if I'll be able to get to the dinner-"

"I would make sure you do," Castle interrupted.

"I'm sure Lily will," Beckett added meaningfully.

"Okay," Brad said. "You guys should head out and get home to plan for this… dinner party."

"We will," Beckett said before she hesitated.

"Like you said, we need to wait for Thayer so you better head out," Brad told them as he saw his friend was looking unsure as well. "And that will take time; there are a few others he has lined up."

Sharing a glance with her husband Beckett said, "Then we'll wait." After she and Castle told the chief goodbye they left together for their car. "This is weird," she said as they paused after putting on their seatbelts.

"I know but… we can go see their dance class," he commented.

"True," Beckett said, looking at her watch. "From the beginning," she added.

"Thayer couldn't step things up?" Castle asked, looking over with her towards the room though there was no movement outside of it.

"You know there are other cases," Beckett replied. "And unfortunately, since he's ruled it suicide now he's going to go to the Rossi case which will have more of a priority," she reminded him.

"What do you think?" Castle asked her.

"Oh, it's likely the son in law," Beckett replied. "But I can't be sure of course since it's not our case."

"No, I agree," Castle replied with a nod before he pulled out of the spot he was in. "Should we call your dad?" he asked, knowing they would need to make some kind of attempt to forget the case for the time being.

"No, I want to surprise them," Beckett said with a slight smile. "They're not really going to expect this." When he nodded she then asked, "Is everything set with dinner?"

"It is, they'll deliver just before six," Castle replied. They weren't too far from the school so when he pulled into the parking lot he said, "Are you alright?"

"I will be," Beckett said. She watched him get out and then stepped out herself before she told him, "Because I get the feeling you'll be making me sit a lot from now on."

"We better go see if they've started," Castle said before he smiled when his wife rolled her eyes. He took her hand and they walked together over to the dance studio setting the pace for them so they could see their daughters again as he knew she was impatient to do.

* * *

Stepping outside of the elementary school building Julia looked around the other students that were leaving as well before she found who she was looking for. "Hey Mari," she told her friend. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah, are you okay?" the little girl asked once she had reached her.

"I am," Julia said reassuringly. "I just want to dance again, I missed it yesterday."

"Me too," Mari said in agreement, nodding her head. She looked around the quad they were in and said, "I think we should go now," as it was nearly empty.

"Wait," Julia said slowly, looking over at the gate.

"They're probably gonna be a while, they have…" Mari started to say before she trailed off as she saw Jim and Eliza coming into the quad.

"Jules!" Eliza cried when she saw her sister. "Did you see Alfred again?"

"No, why?" Julia asked in surprise.

"Oh, I thought he would go to see you now," Eliza said. "Are you ready to dance?"

"Yeah," Julia said. "You?"

"Yep, I wish Mommy and Daddy could come see us," Eliza told her as their grandfather ushered them towards the high school. She then realized her sister didn't know so she said, "I saw them for lunch."

"We did," Jim said with a smile as Julia glanced back at him. "We weren't sure, but they made it."

"It was fun," Eliza said with a smile. "But they missed you too," she added hurriedly.

"I know," Julia said, smiling herself. "I wish they could come here to see the class."

"They're going to try and see some of it," Jim assured them. "For now, we better go so you're not late to your class." He followed them over to the studio and sat down while the three went into the dressing room so they could change. While he waited he heard the door open and then glanced over, smiling at the sight of his daughter and son in law walking in. He then recalled their case and grew serious asking, "What happened?"

"Did they just go in?" Beckett asked as she hugged her father.

"Basically," Jim said simply. "Tell me."

As quickly as they could Castle and Beckett explained what had happened before the latter said, "We're waiting for Thayer."

"You would think they'd hire more MEs," Jim commented.

"I imagine after this Brad's going to push David for it," Castle commented. "Though that has to go through the county."

"But for now, we're going to have to wait," Beckett replied. "Unless the real bomber makes a mistake and strikes again."

"Let's hope not," Jim said as the dance class teacher was coming out. They went to sit down, and he asked his daughter, "Are you alright?"

"I am how was Julia?" Beckett asked him.

"She's fine," Jim replied. "You were worried about her?"

"Mommy!" Julia suddenly cried as she stepped out and saw her parents. She raced over to them and wrapped her arms around her mother's neck saying, "I thought you would still be working."

"We were lucky today," Beckett said with a smile. "And so you know there's some really good news," she began with a smile. She paused and then looked around saying, "Did David and Rebecca come?"

"They texted me, they were still working so they wanted me to bring Mari back with us," Jim explained. He then leaned over to his daughter and murmured, "They said you can tell them."

At that moment Mari was coming out from the dressing room with Eliza and they rushed together to them.

"Hi Mommy!" Eliza said eagerly before she hugged her mother while Julia hugged Castle.

"Hey, now you're here too Mari we can tell you the news," Beckett said with a smile as she hugged her oldest next.

"What news?" Julia asked.

"Brad and Lily told us that they're going to have a baby," Beckett said.

"They are?" Mari said in amazement as Julia gasped.

"They are," Castle said with a nod. "A girl."

"When?" Julia asked interestedly.

"The month after your sister will be, so in June," Beckett said.

"But that's not it," Castle added, smiling at his wife. "We invited them, plus your family Mari to come for dinner tonight."

"Really?" the little girl said eagerly.

"Two nights in a row," Julia said with a smile.

"Fun… you don't have to go back to work? What about Brad?" Mari asked.

"Not for the rest of today," Castle answered. "So we're taking the chance to have a little fun."

"Class," Miss Grey said then. "Let's get started."

"Go, we'll be able to go home with you," Beckett told the girls, bringing them to her to kiss them gently on the cheek.

Castle grabbed them to do the same and he and Beckett squeezed Mari's arm before the three went to the dance floor. Eliza had begun with her sister after school had started up again that month and since she had already been unofficially participating in the class she hadn't had any issues learning. He smiled as the class began to practice the Foxtrot, Eliza dancing around with the teacher since there wasn't anyone to partner with her though she would dance with Peter as well.

"Very good job everyone," Grey said with a smile as she looked around at her students when they stopped. "Now we have a little more time and I'd like us to start on another dance, but we'll need to take it into tomorrow."

"Which one?" one of the kids asked.

"We'll get started on the Paso," Grey answered. "We'll practice our steps on our own right now and tomorrow we'll work on them with our partners."

"Hopefully she'll dance with a partner tomorrow," Castle murmured to his wife as they watched the class beginning to follow their teacher in her steps.

"I know," Beckett said quickly as she didn't want to talk during the rest of the class. She smiled as she could see easily how much Eliza was enjoying it before she glanced at Julia. Then she was relieved to see her oldest alright though her arms were still wrapped in bandages and she was slightly startled when the class ended after that.

" _She's alright_ ," Castle said as he'd been watching his wife.

" _I'm just really glad to see she is_ ," Beckett replied easily. She heard the text alert for her husband's phone and she glanced at him saying, "Brad?"

"No, Alexis… I almost forgot we need to talk to them sooner," Castle replied. He quickly texted her and then his mother but before he got an answer from them he saw the girls were coming out and he stood up with his wife and father in law.

"Can Mari come home with us?" Julia asked once she reached her parents.

"I think her parents want her to go home," Jim said.

"You'll see her soon," Castle said as Julia frowned slightly. "Remember she is coming for dinner."

Sighing Julia nodded before she said to her friend, "At least we'll see each other there."

"Can they talk to us?" Beckett asked her husband as he got his phone.

"Yeah," Castle replied as he read the two messages he'd gotten at the same time.

"'lexis and Gram?" Eliza asked hopefully after they'd said goodbye to Jim who was taking the car her parents had brought back home.

"Yep," Castle told them. He put his phone away and then picked up Eliza before saying, "We've got a lot to tell them, so we need to hurry before our guests come."  
"I think they're going Rick," Beckett said with a smile. "We don't need to push them."

"I can tell," Castle said with a smile as he watched Julia and Mari walking ahead of them. He set down Eliza as she kicked her legs before she ran ahead with the three and as they held hands he took his wife's. He smiled at Beckett briefly and he knew from that one look she too was turning her attention to their family and friends and their plans for that night fully as they neared their neighborhood and home.


	18. Keep On Holding You Tight

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: It was great to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so I will start on my thank yous for that! Guest (Not surprised that you're glad that Lily is okay or that she's pregnant, but I am happy that you think both of course. And I also wasn't surprised to see that you felt bad for Lily not telling him about the pregnancy since she thought; with her hormones affecting her; Brad wouldn't want the baby since they'd agreed on having two. But you're right, of course he'd be thrilled about another baby and he was. No surprise you're happy that Brad and Lily are back on track, or that you mentioned the bomber is still around and taunting them as you put it. So happy to see you're enjoying the story and are happy to have found my stories. And believe me that I'm happy you have too! And the letting me know that you're enjoying the story very much was nice too since I love hearing that of course. It was such a nice compliment that you think I have wonderful imagination. I'm so happy I'm giving you and the other readers as you put it a truly special look into a truly special family. Also of course, pleased to read you think it was good writing, I try my best!),

MsNYC (No surprise that you were glad that Lily was fine, but it was great to read you were even happier that she was pregnant. Or that it was her nervous about the pregnancy like a teen; as you said, instead of them splitting up because of fighting. And I do know how much you love the flashbacks, so I wasn't surprised that you loved the one in the chapter, lol. I wasn't surprised you weren't expecting the case to be over with what happened in the second half of the chapter. And I had to laugh at you saying you were hoping the Feds close the case so, Brad Castle and Beckett could prove them wrong, just because it wasn't unexpected. And no surprise at your comment about the flashback continued into the second half, lol, but I am pleased to see you enjoyed that! Great that you were happy the girls were able to go to their dance class. Really happy that you thought it was great writing as usual. And I'm not surprised you mentioned Castle's reaction to Scarsi as I recall you mentioning something about him doing that, so thanks for the two thumbs up writing that!),

Mb (Glad reading that you thought it was a great update! I'm not surprised that you too are so happy that Lily is okay with just some minor cuts. And it was nice to see your reaction to the news about Lily being pregnant. Oh, and I am glad that her being afraid to tell Brad about the pregnancy was plausible to you, good thing your mom had the saying pregnancy brain, so you were aware of it already as I wasn't sure readers would think that was an actual thing. But yeah, I know hormones can mess pregnant women up and to see you saying that in review was just fantastic to read! And not surprised that you're glad that even though there was a bomb at least it got them to talk to each other. And I had to laugh at your comment about true order being restored but of course you're right about that. I couldn't really see them asking anyone else to but Castle and Beckett to be the godparents since of course they've been friends since they were kids, so I'm happy you thought it was sweet they asked them. Nice reading you love that Eliza knew because Alfred told her and Julia about the bomb going off at Lily's restaurant that Lily was ok. I had wondered what the response would be to the bit with the girls' abilities, but glad you mentioned that Castle and Beckett understand and are accepting. And Beckett is a bit, lol, especially in concern to what Castle is seeing of their past lives so not surprised you mentioned that. So great that you're loving the flashbacks again that are filling in the backstory with Julia in their lives, plus Castle and Beckett falling more and more in love and of a family forming as you said. Great to read you thought it was fantastic. And you're welcome for the thank you of the first half! Nice to read you thought the second half was another fantastic update. Not surprised you're agreeing with Castle and Beckett about it being too easy to be Brad's TO since the bomber's been too methodical to be caught by security cameras. Really happy seeing you think that Castle was going to punch the agents for talking the way they did to Beckett as well as being blind to it maybe being a setup… or possible/obvious as you put it, lol. I'm also not surprised that you're even less impressed with the agents because of their narrow thinking, as you put it, to see the pieces of the picture they had not fitting correctly with the way they formed it. Not surprised you're glad that Castle and Beckett are there to help Brad to stop the agents and wait for more evidence for the story to continue forming. And you're right, they do have an open mind unlike the agents to get the complete picture with the case and not see what they want to see but what is. You're also right about Castle saying you have to see the story to get the motive and the killer for the crime too. It was nice reading you love how they take the time to decompress and be with their family and friends to celebrate. And not surprised you said their friends are their extended family, lol. And there will be a bit more Martha and Alexis too. Thanks for saying it was a fantastic update. And you're very welcome for the thank you for this second half of the chapter!),

vetgirlmx (I had to laugh at your reaction to this chapter, with the answer to what was happening with Lily and Brad and who'll be the baby's best friend, but you make a point there. And not surprised you're glad Lily's fine in the end, along with hers and Brad's relationship. Not a surprise that you think it's good to know that what between them wasn't serious, just Lily's uncertainty; or insecurities as you put it; exaggerated by her hormones because of the pregnancy. So happy that you too loved the flashback again, and interesting you're hoping to see the rest of the weekend there since they focused on Julia and were having a blast which I was glad you thought that too! Not surprised you were startled by Julia and Eliza talking to the spirit as if, as you said, it was an everyday occurrence and I didn't intend that to be, more just because they're used to being able to do that. And of course, it's no surprise that it's still strange to you since I haven't had this in the story much. Also no surprise, you thinking Brad's former partner being set up and everyone but the agents seeing that. Or that you're sure they will soon too and that you're going to be very glad seeing their reactions finding out they're wrong and that made me laugh too, lol. So nice to read that you're more eager for the dinner party and their celebration of Brad and Lily's good news since of course I take it you want to read more and now you can!) and

TORONTOSUN (It was nice that you like how concerned Beckett is with Lily, and I figured she would be since they've been friends for so long. And of course, I'm happy to see that you thought it was very good writing for the second half!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them and I am grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Tonight_ written by Ian McLagan and John Pidgeon, sung by Ringo Starr on his album _Bad Boy_.

Keep On Holding You Tight

"We're ready," Beckett said to her husband as he was looking at her.

"Okay," Castle said quickly while he turned on Skype on their TV. He looked at the screen, watching as his daughter and then mother appeared on a split screen.

"Hey everyone," Alexis said with a smile as she looked to see who exactly was there.

"Hello," Martha said next, searching them as well. "Are those our new editions?"

"This is Max and Molly," Julia said, holding onto the latter's collar while Max sat with them.

"They are very cute," Martha said.

"She's right; I really can't wait to meet them," Alexis replied. "And since that brings up my Spring Break I have to let you know that Louis wants to let you know something."

"What?" Beckett asked, glancing at her husband and seeing that he looked confused.

"Just letting you know; we can join you," Louis said, coming onto the screen then.

"Great to hear, but they'll need to hurry to get accomi…" Castle began to say before he trailed off. "They did already didn't they," he stated.

"They did-" Alexis replied.

"Like your dad said that's great to hear," Beckett said quickly. "Let your da know I was hoping you'd have the chance to come along."

"I'll go tell them," Louis said quickly. "Hello everyone."

"Bye," the girls said, slightly giggling as the young man soon left.

"How are you girls doing?" Martha asked.

"Good," Julia said, pulling down the sleeves of her sweater self-consciously.

"Are you sure Jules?" Alexis said, remembering what had happened the day before. "We should have called you yesterday."

Shaking her head quickly Julia said, "That's okay, everyone was asking me if I was okay and I am now. Did you hear about Lily and Brad?"

"We got their e-mail," Martha answered. "And we're very shocked. Five months?"

"She just wasn't sure," Beckett said as her husband looked at her. "But Brad is very happy."

"We can attest to that; you can tell when he looks at her," Castle said with a slight smile. "We're hosting a party for them tonight," he then added. "Girls you better tell them about your day at school."

"Should we tell them about Alfred?" Eliza whispered to her sister. When Julia nodded she smiled and then talked about her day, including what had happened after the explosion at the restaurant had gone off before Julia told them about her own day up until their conversation at that moment.

"Well… I suppose it's a good thing Alfred is a good man," Martha said, looking to her daughter in law.

"He used to be a farmhand when the land was a farm, way back," Castle said. "He cared for horses, so we think that's why he's appearing to the girls; though he was just appearing to Eliza first. I guess he's going to Julia now too."

Beckett glanced at her father and shook her head slightly before she then said, "But everyone's alright, Brad let us know the two at the restaurant; Juanita and Pablo; were allowed to go home after they were treated for some minor wounds. Lily's letting them take a few days off, but they want to go back on Thursday."

"How is she though?" Martha asked.

"Fine, she was taking care of herself," Beckett said. "But; and we forgot to tell you guys this; they asked us to be the baby's godparents."

"Great so we're all one big family now," Alexis said with a smile. "Many times over."

"Not blood family," Castle said as the girls looked back at himself and Beckett. "But we're friends." He paused for a moment and then said in a British accent, "Actually we're just good friends."

"Good one Dad," Alexis said with a sigh.

"We're holding a celebratory party for them with the Fosters as well," Castle reminded them.

"He means tonight kiddo and likely they'll be there soon," Martha said with a smile to her granddaughter that she could see on the split screen. "I suppose I should say hello Jim."

"Martha, I didn't do all that much today," Beckett's father replied, a smile on his face as well. "Alexis it's good to see you again."

"Thank you Jim and you don't mind them going with us?" the young woman asked.

"They're family as Katie said," Jim replied with a shrug. "It will be an interesting vacation."

"And now to say goodbye," Martha said. "Goodnight everyone though we are very early. And we'll speak to you soon. Girls, I love you both. And that includes you as well Alexis."

"Thank you, Gram. Love you too," the young woman said with a smile.

"Love you Gram," Julia said first.

"Yeah, love you Gram, see you really soon," Eliza said.

"Thank you, girls," Martha said in amusement.

"And we love you 'lexis," Julia said quickly.

"I love you both," Alexis told them with a smile.

"Love you 'lexis, have fun with Louis," Eliza said, waving her hand.

"Wait, what about your day?" Castle asked his daughter.

"Just classes and homework and luckily some rest after," Alexis said. "There wasn't much else today so you're all caught up." She then smiled and said, "Love you Dad, Kate we'll talk soon."

"We love you too," Castle said.

"And we're eager to see you back here," Beckett added. When her stepdaughter looked at her questioningly she smiled and told her, "But for now we'll settle for talking to you again."

After Martha had said goodbye to Castle and Beckett the two went over to the kitchen to see what they needed to do for the dinner party while her father stayed with the girls.

"What would you like to do now?" Jim asked them.

"I wanna see cartoons," Eliza said.

"Luckily I know your parents would be okay if you did that," Jim replied reaching for the remote. He looked at Julia and said, "Maybe you should give them a few minutes."

"I guess," the little girl said, glancing over at the doorway. She tried to shake herself and turned to the TV screen for the cartoon her grandfather had found for them to watch. She tried to keep track of the time but since there was no clock around she had no idea how long it was before she got up. She hurried over to the doorway and peeked out, not realizing that Jim was watching her.

"Grandpapa-" Eliza started to say when she watched her sister slipping out the door.

"It's alright, they're getting ready," Jim answered, holding his hand up to her.

"Not kissing?" Eliza asked.

"I don't think so," Jim replied. "But you're missing your cartoon," he said to turn her attention back to the screen, wondering why Julia had wanted to talk to her mother so badly as he'd been able to tell.

When she stepped out into the hall Julia was startled to find the kitchen empty and she started to go over to the dining room when she realized she could hear her parents' soft laughter from their office. A smile on her face she ran over to it and peered inside to see her father cupping his hand over her mother's stomach gently. She hesitated and then knocked on the wall gently before her mother called her in.

"She was kicking right now," Castle said as he and his wife looked to watch their oldest come in. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I just wanted to see you Mommy," Julia said.

"How are your bandages?" Beckett asked as she recalled the motion she'd seen her daughter making; pulling down her sweater sleeves.

"I think they're okay," Julia commented.

"We'll be back Rick," Beckett told her husband with a smile before she went to their daughter and put her hand on her back. They went together upstairs to her room before she closed the door and then helped her taking off her sweater. "Do you want to take them off?" she asked her.

"No but they feel loose," Julia said. "Sorry I interrupted you and Daddy."

"Probably better you did because we didn't really get anything for the dinner that we'll need," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when her daughter looked at her questioningly and she smiled saying, "Your daddy wanted me to go back with you guys."

"Shouldn't you?" Julia said as she held her arms out to her mother for her to take off her bandages.

"Oh, not you too," Beckett said teasingly. "Sit I'll get fresh ones," she told her before she went over to the bathroom where her husband had put their supply of bandages.

"You were doing a lot of stuff weren't you Mommy?" Julia asked, going over to the doorway.

"Yes, and that's why he's worried but…" Beckett began. "I am alright, but I promise you; and I promised him too; I would sit and rest if I need to." She came out to her daughter and proceeded to wrap her daughter's arms again adding, "And I probably will because I really want to talk to Lily."

Julia smiled and watched as her mother set the bandages before she hugged her tightly.

"Hold on," Beckett said with a smile. "I don't want you to get cold." She saw the smile on her daughter's face and asked, "What?"

"Did Grandmama say that to you?" Julia asked.

"A lot because I liked to go out in the rain," Beckett said. She embraced her daughter after she helped her getting her sweater back on and said, "It's what mothers are there for of course."

"Thanks," Julia said before she took her hand. They went out into the hall when she heard the chime of the gate and she said, "Are they here already?"

"I guess they can't wait for the party," Beckett said in amusement as she took her daughter's hand so they could go down the stairs. "Fifteen minutes early," she told her husband with a smile.

"I know, good thing I have the appetizers ready," Castle said. When his wife looked at him with a perplexed look on his face he explained, "David and Rebecca are bringing them."

"Oh, that helps," Beckett said as they walked to the foyer; meeting her father and Eliza over there. "Don't tell me you asked Brad and Lily to bring dessert."

"No, David and Rebecca are too," Castle assured her. He pressed the intercom and said, "Why didn't you guys go around?"

"Easier to walk this way, open the gate Rick!" David said on the other side.

Castle laughed and then pressed the button to let them inside before he opened the door and they looked outside together as a car came down the driveway. "I guess everyone's here," since he recognized it as the Davis' car. He looked with the others while Beckett rushed to the coat closet and got hers before she went outside. "She wants to see Lily again," he said to their daughters.

"I thought you were going to run out here," Lily said as she got out of the car and embraced her friend tightly. "Is that your stomach?" she asked after she froze for a moment.

"I'm nearly six months," Beckett said in amusement before they let go of each other. "And you're almost five it was bound to happen."

"I guess so," Lily said laughingly. "We better get going though since everyone is here now."

Beckett nodded, and she walked with her to the house as Brad was ushering Lily with his hand on her back. She went over to the patio with her friend quickly where the rest of her family was waiting to greet everyone though the kids were already meeting up and talking almost at once as they all looked on. She smiled when Julia waved her arms suddenly before she started to speak to everyone once all the other children had stopped talking.

"Stop asking me about my arms," the girl said. Julia smiled at Eve; since she'd started the questioning of that; and then told the other kids, "We should go inside, two of our moms are pregnant."

"Oh boy," Lily said under her breath.

Nudging her side very gently Beckett said, "You're right sweetie we should get inside but mostly for you two; you don't have coats on." She went over to her daughters with Castle and they made it inside, the foyer a little noisy as they were all greeting each other.

"So six dogs now," David said to Castle.

"Yeah it was a little all of a sudden," he replied.

"I heard you took them in," David said as he nodded to Max and Molly that all the kids were looking at. "Nice of you to do. How did you get Kate to agree to it?"

With a smile Castle replied, "She didn't want them to go to the shelter either so there was no getting her to agree. But for now, we should get those appetizers out so we can start on them before dinner."

"Why are you guys so early?" Beckett asked Rebecca and Lily as their husbands ushered them to the family room. "And guys we're all fine," she said to the three men as the kids went upstairs and her father headed to the kitchen.

"Two of you should sit," David commented. "But Becca you're fine."

"Get out of here," Rebecca said, rolling her eyes. They were all laughing as their husbands left and when she calmed down she said to the two women, "I feel almost left out." When Beckett and Lily shared a look she said, "Oh it's alright, I have Mari and Ruby and I'm fine with them. Plus, we were insanely lucky having them both. What I wanted to talk about is you," directing that to Lily as they went to the couch and armchairs to sit down together.

"There isn't much to the story," the woman replied. "I was an idiot and scared myself instead of talking to my husband." Lily sighed and then ran her hand over her stomach before she said, "I really hope my anxiety during that time doesn't hurt the baby."

"It won't," Beckett said. "You said you were going to appointments, right?" When her friend nodded she smiled and said, "And you told them."

"My doctor became kind of like a therapist then and she kept telling me to tell Brad but… that didn't quite work out," Lily replied. "But she's fine and so am I and we're all hoping we will be all the way through. Any other questions?"

"How'd the kids take it?" Beckett asked.

"Oh, they were… ecstatic to say the least," Lily replied. "Jake said we can't call him the monkey in the middle," she said with a smile. "But he's just fine if we call him the big brother."

"No middle kids in our families," Rebecca commented.

"There was in mine; for a while," Beckett said with a smile. She was about to speak when she heard Brad calling down the hall and she started to get up.

"Don't worry," Rebecca said, holding out her hand to stop her. "They're probably expecting me."

Watching her go Lily said to Beckett, "I forgot how everyone treats you as if you're highly delicate. Granted we can't run around the tree in your driveway outside but still."

Laughing slightly Beckett then said, "No but you're right. Though they're doing it out of love. How was Brad while you were at home?"

"He was… hovering," Lily replied. "But considering I didn't tell him about the baby I should have expected that. You know he was very eager talking about the room and what we need."

"I'm not surprised; Rick was the same way as soon as I told him about the baby," Beckett said. "Have you talked about names?"

Shaking her head Lily said, "I told you we waited until Eve and Jake were born to think of them. But I've thought of some names like you have, mainly middle names."

Beckett smiled and then told her, "Did you ever think this would happen?"

"No," Lily said with a laugh. "When we were talking about having a family and kids we never talked about the pregnancy aspect."

"We didn't want to really think about it when we were younger," Beckett said.

Lily nodded and then said, "But then again I don't think either of us expected to be married to best friends or live outside of the city."

"But you do have your restaurant," Beckett said. She then frowned and said, "What about your reservations for tonight?"

"I called everyone personally and they understood… more so because it's gotten out that I'm pregnant," Lily replied. "But we're open tomorrow so I'm saving them tables."

Before Beckett could speak Castle appeared in the doorway and he told them the appetizers were ready; the two women getting up as the kids were coming down the stairs with all six dogs.

"Wait, wait," Brad said as the children were all talking at once. "You all need to wash your hands." He studied them and said, "Also put away those wands; how are there enough for all of them?" directing the question to the parents.

"They have a few extras," Beckett said with a smile.

"Gifts," Castle added before he watched the kids taking turns at the sink as well as David, Rebecca, Lily and Brad. While they were doing that he went to his wife and asked, " _Have a good conversation_?"

Smiling at his use of Irish, Beckett then said, " _We did but there wasn't much we could discuss. Mainly marveling at how different things turned out from what we'd hoped in high school_."

" _That would happen; I know it did for me_ ," Castle replied.

" _And the fact we married men who were best friends through most of their school years_ ," Beckett added.

" _That is a coincidence_ ," Castle said before he realized the others were looking at them. "Sorry just… a quick discussion."

"You should have seen the agents working on the case when they did that," Brad said in amusement as Jim was helping their kids get appetizers. "They were very irritated."

"We're not talking about the case now though," Lily said, resting her hand on her husband's arm.

"Right, just was pointing something out," Brad replied quickly, taking her hand and squeezing it. "So how are you guys?" he said to David and Rebecca.

"We're fine," the former said. "Just working so not much we can say really."

"Though we are hungry, excuse us," Rebecca said before she pulled her husband over to the island.

"So are we," Lily said.

"I'm alright but I would like to try something," Beckett said with a smile when her husband looked at her.

With a nod Castle followed her over and he said, "You did a great job," to David and Rebecca.

"I made them," the former said with a smile as the two picked up the potato skins he and his wife had brought. "She demanded some time with Dani."

"I don't blame her," Beckett said as they looked at their kids who were standing around the kitchen table. "We don't have much planned for after dinner."

"It's an impromptu party," Brad commented. "You didn't need to plan every detail."

"It means a lot you invited us," Lily said.

"Rick," Beckett said. "Drinks."

"I've got them," Castle said, touching her arm so she wouldn't follow him.

Watching her father following, Beckett told the others, "Since two of us can't drink we have some sparkling apple cider."

"The kids?" David asked.

"We have a number of bottles," Castle commented as he came over with one and some glasses. "So there's enough. What I'm wondering now is what you'll do with the restaurant as you get further along Lily?"

"We discussed that," Brad said, fighting a smile as he looked at his wife who rolled her eyes before she spoke next.

"That nearly turned into an argument," Lily said. She sighed and told everyone, "He doesn't want me to continue now and I told him he was a dolt."

"It's just I worry about her," Brad said. "She was keeping this hidden and how things can get…"

"I've already talked to Betsy," Lily replied easily. "And she'll take over as head chef temporarily."

"When?" David asked.

Looking at Castle, Lily asked, "You too?"

"We can understand where he's coming from," he said carefully.

"But it's your decision of course," David added.

"Nice," Brad said. "And eventually I told her that," he added. "I just want things to go alright this time around since this was definitely a gift."

As their parents and Jim were talking together Julia said to Mari and Eve, "I wonder why he came to me, I've seen him but he only talked to my sister."

"You didn't see the… ghost at all?" Eve asked Mari.

"Nope," the little girl replied. "It just felt super cold and I had my coat on then too. But you could tell he was really nice."

Hearing crying then Julia looked with the others at Dani who was sitting down with Macca and JoJo nudging her hands. She watched Rebecca hurry over to her and then said to her friend, "Is she tired?"

"Dani slipped," Eliza answered before Mari could. "But she's kay."

"How do you know that?" Jacob asked as he joined them.

Shrugging Eliza said, "I just do. Is she?"

"Oh she's fine, why don't you guys go on and play?" Rebecca said.

Beckett watched as the five kids rushed to the island and grabbed the loaded potato skins before they left, going down to the family room with their wands. She looked at Rebecca and Lily who were with her as their husbands and her father left and said, "They've played here already so I trust them."

"Unless you guys don't trust your kids," Castle commented as he came back to them.

"And you?" Beckett asked her husband in amusement.

"Julia and Eliza know what to do," Castle replied though he knew his wife hadn't meant that.

Rolling her eyes; though she was trying not to smile; Beckett said, "I thought you were going to try and push us over to the room so we would sit."

"I wasn't but since you put the idea in my mind…" Castle began. When Beckett laughed softly and shook her head he reached for her hand and gently squeezed it before he realized they were alone as the two women and Dani had gone after the kids. "We need to follow them, don't we?" he asked her.

"We do but…" Beckett started to say before she reached up to her husband and cupped his cheek. She leaned over and kissed him gently, before he was suddenly grabbing her tightly and they were a little desperate as their lips crushed together.

Stepping out into the hallway a moment later Julia smiled at the sight of her parents before she walked down to them. "Sorry again," she said when they parted and looked over at her. "But I was wondering if you were gonna come and watch us."

"We are, just wanted a second to kiss her," Castle replied before he took his wife's hand again and walked with her over to the family room.

"Actually, I did first but either way we both wanted to do that," Beckett corrected him. "But for now we'll focus on our guests."

"I'm playing with them Mommy," Julia said, trying not to laugh too hard. She then thought of something and asked her parents, "Can Mari and Eve spend the night?"

Before anyone could answer the chime for the gate rang and Castle hurried to answer it so their food could be brought inside. Once it had been everyone went over to the kitchen to grab their food and then sat together at the dining room table.

"I'm guessing; since you all are looking at me," Castle said. "That I'm supposed to make a toast right now?"

"I think so," Beckett told her husband with a smile.

"Okay, then congratulations to you Brad, Lily," Castle began, holding his glass up. "We're all very happy for you; if you couldn't tell from the way we've been talking lately."

Laughing as she and her husband tapped their glasses against the others' that were around them Lily said, "I think we could."

"And we're glad you're all so happy for us," Brad added.

"That too," Lily agreed with him. She laughed slightly and then said, "But we're also glad you care as much as you do."

"How could we not?" David said. "I thought we were all friends."

"We are," Brad said. "But it's nice to see of course."

After they'd eaten a bit more Jim then said, "Did you decide which bedroom the baby will have at your home?"

"The one next to Eve's," Brad said first.

"I told Mom and Dad I wouldn't mind," the girl said. "And it was the best room out of the other ones."

"We'll have to start getting it ready soon," Lily told her husband.

"I know, luckily we have the time," Brad said.

When he saw that both his friend and Lily were looking at himself and Beckett, Castle said, "Yes?"

"I think they want to know about our baby's room," Beckett said, looking at them as well. "And if you are then yes, yes it's ready."

"No, you can't see it," Castle added. "Not until our baby is here to join us."

"That's unfair," Jacob said. When the others looked at him he said, "Just saying."

"We want the baby to be there while you all admire her room," Beckett explained. "Really we just want her here."

"We'll probably do the same thing," Brad commented.

"We did with Dani's room," Rebecca said.

"Then it's agreed, we're waiting to see the two rooms," Castle said.

With some laughter the others began to break off and talk together while Castle and Beckett spoke with Brad and Lily.

"You shouldn't be afraid of being 'rusty,'" Beckett was saying. "How can you be honestly?"

"I don't know," Lily said laughingly. "But Eve and Jake are nearly thirteen and twelve; it's been a while since I've done this."

"I'm sure you won't forget how to do everything," Beckett said.

"She's right," Castle said. "And while I'm a father, I didn't forget how to do the father things."

"The father things?" Brad asked. "Are you sure this is apple cider?"

"Very," Beckett replied in amusement. "If you think he hovers over you," she then directed to Lily.  
"That's it?" Brad asked.

"I think I got what she was trying to say already," Lily said in amusement. "And we should have a competition."

"I think they'll be about even," Beckett said, smiling at her husband and Brad who were just shaking their heads.

"And now we should leave them alone," Lily said, trying not to laugh at the expressions on their faces.

Through the rest of the dinner Castle and Beckett spoke to their friends since their daughters were sitting with the other kids. When they had all finished Rebecca, Lily and Beckett were urged to sit as their husbands cleared the table with the kids' help.

"Now David's doing the same to me," Rebecca said in protest though her husband had left by then. She sighed and said, "I guess we should count ourselves lucky they'd want to do that."

"I do," Lily said, Beckett nodding with her. "It's just the over…"

"What?" Beckett asked in surprise as she watched her friend look her over.

"Your husband's not protesting you investigating this case?" Lily asked.

"There was some, but it didn't last very long," Beckett replied.

"Since he's there he can watch over you?" Rebecca suggested.

"I'm sure that's what he's thinking," Beckett said with a smile on her face. "And I told your husband," she directed to Lily. "That this will be our last case." She saw the smile the two were exchanging and said, "What?"

"He's not going back is he?" Lily asked.

"Without her? I don't think you need to ask that," Rebecca replied.

"I guess not," Lily said as Beckett was rolling her eyes.

"Hey, the kids are going over to the family room," Castle said as he came inside with David and Brad.

"With my dad?" Beckett asked. When he nodded she said, "Shouldn't we go after them?"

"They're fine for the moment; they're getting your daughters' Play-Doh sets," David replied.

"They want to play UNO though," Brad said. "Since of course we can all join in on that."

"But there are thirteen of us," Rebecca said. "Unless you're not counting Dani in which case it's twelve."

"Jim said he'd sit out," Castle said. "And Eliza will play with me."

"Then I guess that settles it, but what about us right now? Poker?" Lily asked.

"No cards, just talking," David said first.

"Unless we get bored and then I guess we should play some cards," Brad added.

"Speaking of that there's something I've been wondering," David said.

"That has to do with cards?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, I've always wondered about you playing cards with the other writers," David told them.

"I've wondered the same," Brad said.

"Why didn't you mention it to them?" Lily said, nodding to David and Rebecca.

"I don't know," Castle said after he and his wife had exchanged a look and finally just shrugged. "Now we can though."

"Why do I need to tell them?" Beckett said when her husband looked at her.

"I think they want to hear about the first time you played with them," Castle replied. "It was very interesting."

"How?" Lily asked.

"Grisham was with us," Beckett said. "And he hadn't played with them for… years. But I think it was just to see me; they all were interested in seeing me."

"That's more because they were aware of her from me," Castle said.

"They didn't go to your wedding?" Brad asked.

"No, that was a surprise I thought you'd invite them," David said.

"We didn't want our guest list to be that long," Beckett explained. "He did contact Connelly and Patterson, but they had other obligations at the time."

"They sent some gifts," Castle added. "A wedding gift and then something for the baby."

"Don't look so surprised," Beckett said with a smile as Brad and Lily looked like that.

"They have families too," Castle said. "And they always showed an interest in Alexis since they met her the first time I hosted one of our poker nights at the loft."

"Can we ask what they gave you?" Brad said first.

"A teddy bear," Castle said. "That was from Connelly and Patterson sent Eliza some onesies. And Grisham sent some of those too."

"Any of them like the vest you had in the city?" Brad asked.

"No, she thought they might try doing that," Castle said as he nodded to his wife. "But I think they recalled the mother of the baby was not like me."

"And good thing they did because I wondered what exactly they would have put on a onesie that looked like the vest," Beckett said with a smile on her face.

"Writer's baby?" David suggested.

"Something like that," Castle said in amusement as Beckett rolled her eyes.

"Okay, so you held the first poker night here when?" Lily asked to bring their attention back to what they'd been talking about in the first place.

"I was a little late downstairs," Beckett said. "Which I think you planned," she said to her husband.

"I did not," Castle said in mock incredulity.

"Where were your daughters? Over at the Foster house?" Brad asked.

"They were," Beckett said. "So I was slightly nervous about playing with them since I knew how they'd been to the author that Rick took to play with them," she added as she looked pointedly at her husband. When he just smiled at her she continued and said, "But meeting them it actually went well to my surprise," as she remembered that night easily.

* * *

 _"Kate," Castle said as he turned to his wife walking over to where he was in the entry with their guests. "Connelly, Patterson, Grisham this is my wife who you know already by name."_

 _Beckett shook the three authors' hands, trying not to feel too strange that she was doing so as she'd read all their books. She didn't mention that, instead saying she was glad to meet them all._

 _"We are as well," Patterson said before they went over to the parlor where they would be playing. "Rick's talked about you… constantly since he began working with you."_

 _"Took him long enough to finally settle down with you," Connelly said._

 _"He liked to push me to do that," Castle told his wife before they sat down at the poker table set up in the room. "Wine?" When the three men nodded he went to grab it from the credenza against the side of the room and poured them glasses before he passed them around the table and finally sat down himself while his wife started to shuffle. He was going to ask what they wanted to play when Grisham began to talk before he himself could._

 _"I wonder if you would tell us some of your stories," the author said._

 _"Some?" Beckett replied._

 _"The ones we've heard from him," Connelly said, nodding to Castle. "We've only heard his side."_

 _"I told them I never wildly exaggerated things," Castle said to his wife. "So we'll play Follow the Queen," he told them after Beckett had stopped shuffling. "And please don't make my wife tell you any stories."_

 _"I don't think we could," Patterson said._

 _"He did draw from my interrogation techniques," Beckett said to the author as they picked up their cards. "And no, you probably couldn't."_

 _Castle smiled at his wife at that last comment before he turned his attention to his cards. He was startled at the silence from the other three authors and was just about to comment on it when Grisham was speaking._

 _"Are you two working on your next book?" the man asked._

 _"Are you all aware of his writing techniques?" Beckett asked them._

 _"We are," Connelly said. "And you mean to say he's still writing like that?"_

 _"Former techniques she meant to say," Castle told them._

 _"Not without a fair amount of attempted delays," Beckett said easily. "And yes, we are writing our second book." She glanced at the three men across from her and Castle and then said, "I don't know you, but my husband does so I won't ask about the veracity of your blurbs Mr.…"_

 _"Last name or first name is fine," Connelly interrupted her._

 _"Your blurbs Patterson, Connelly," Beckett replied. "Because I can tell you're expecting that of me."_

 _"She's good," Connelly said simply to Castle._

 _"She is, also psychic," he replied._

 _Rolling her eyes Beckett threw in another chip and said, "Observant. And we should just focus on the game."_

 _"We should," Castle said in agreement as he saw the three men looked slightly surprised before they continued to play through to the end. He was pleased though, as it seemed she was making a good impression on the other authors, relieved as well as he'd wanted that before the night had begun. He shook himself of his thoughts and then turned his attention to the cards that were dealt for their next game before they proceeded to play Texas Hold 'Em._

* * *

"I could tell," Castle said when his wife finished telling them that the rest of the night had been them playing and talking though they couldn't really remember everything they'd talked about. "That they were impressed by her."

"You weren't star struck?" Lily asked her friend.

"Oh sure," Beckett replied. "I read their all of their books," she said. "But I wasn't going to gush about them, it wasn't a book signing of course."

"Are you still in contact with them?" David then said.

"We are, we were going to have another card game this spring but we'll be a little busy," Castle said.

"Patterson already sent a gift for the baby," Beckett commented as they stood up together. "A blanket but he also sent books for Julia and Eliza."

"We sent him a bottle of wine from Spain to thank him," Castle added. "So it was a fun night and we've done it occasionally, when any of the authors I know can make it out here."

"Should we be insulted?" David said suddenly.

"Why?" Rebecca asked her husband as they walked down the hall to the family room.

"No one's come to check on us," David replied.

"We need checking up on?" Brad asked wryly.

"Why not?" David said before he laughed when the chief just looked at him. "Sorry I'm just hoping Jim isn't having a hard time with them."

"He won't," Beckett assured them. They were walking inside the room by then and she smiled before she said, "I guess you guys are having fun."

"It's a good thing you have a lot of sets," Jim said, looking up at his daughter. "They were arguing about what to do exactly with the Play-Doh."

"I guess it is," Beckett replied before she saw Lily out of the corner of her eye pausing as she sat down. "Moving?" she asked.

"She is," Lily replied. "Been a while since I felt that," she said to the others as they watched the kids going back to their play.

"The baby will kick soon," Eliza told Eve and Jacob.

"Do you remember when Jake was inside your mom?" Julia asked though she thought she knew the answer already.

"Nope," Eve replied. "I can only remember him always being there. You're such a pest," directing the last to her brother.

"Nerd," Jacob replied, sticking his tongue out at her before they laughed together.

"Is your sister gonna be a pest?" Eliza asked.

"No," Jacob said first. "She'll be the baby… I don't remember holding a baby that much," he told the others.

"You won't forget," Mari said reassuringly as it'd been her sister that he'd last held she knew.

"She's right, I didn't after Lizzy grew up," Julia added. She smiled and then said, "The grownups are watching us," as she'd noticed that they were.

"We find your conversation fascinating," Castle said.

"Have you made anything we can see yet?" Rebecca asked.

"We did, for our parents," Eve replied before she and Jacob went to theirs and the others went to theirs.

"We made you some flowers," Eliza said with a wide smile.

"Thank you they look very pretty," Beckett said, reaching up and cupping her cheek gently. "Are you two having fun?"

"Yeah, you didn't think we would?" Julia asked.

With a smile Castle said, "Just checking since you're kind of playing separately."

"No we aren't Daddy," Eliza said quickly. "We're together."

"Okay, do you still want to play UNO?" Beckett asked them with a soft laugh. She wasn't surprised when the two nodded eagerly and she said to everyone else, "Let's get going, they want to play still."

"So do our girls," David said.

"And our kids," Brad added. They got up and walked together to the dining room before he said, "Should we have dessert now?"

"Yes, and how did you know we had it?" Castle asked him.

"I think they know you Richard," Jim commented.

"We'll be back with it," Castle said.

"He was right," Beckett told her friend.

"What did you get for dessert?" Eve asked Julia.

Shaking her head, the girl said, "We didn't get it; David and Rebecca brought it."

"Here you are," Castle said, coming back first. "Some baklava for everyone and milk for the kids."

"Should we help?" Rebecca asked. "You have a lot of those to serve."

"I have a tray," Brad called before he came into the room.

"Okay," David said once they had finished all the small plates and drinks for both the kids and the adults. "Are we ready because it is getting later."

"We are, we're already dealing," Lily commented.

"How much later is it Daddy?" Mari asked her father.

"Well we can only play for about a half hour," Rebecca answered instead of her husband. "And no, we can't stay any longer."

Seeing Julia staring at her Beckett said, "Julia would like Mari and Eve to stay the night."

"Didn't Mari just do that?" David asked the girl.

"Yes," Julia said hesitatingly. She then quickly said, "But it's a special day."

"I don't think it's so much that," Lily began in amusement. "Just you want the chance." When the girl nodded she sighed and then looked over at her husband.

"Oh don't look at me, I'm letting you decide," Brad said, holding his hands up as he'd closed his hand so no one could see his cards.

"Let me guess," Rebecca said then, looking at her husband. "I'm deciding for Mari?"

"That would be best," David said, laughing when his wife pinched his arm gently.

"You don't have to," Beckett said. When she heard her daughter's noise of protest she said, "Sweetie it is a school night and you were lucky Mari spent the night yesterday."

"Hold on Kate," Lily said. "We didn't answer yet and yes, Eve can stay the night. But we're not going to make a habit of this." When Julia and her daughter nodded she smiled and then looked over at Rebecca for her answer next.

"Yes, Mari can stay," the woman said with a sigh. She then smiled when her daughter rushed to her and threw her arms around her and she said in reaction to her thank yous, "You're welcome but like Lily said don't get used to us agreeing to this."

"I won't Mommy," Mari said earnestly. "And I'll be really good and everything."

"I hope so," David said before he hugged his daughter as she embraced him next. "Go so we can finish the game."

"Are you guys okay taking one kid back?" Castle asked as they began the game once more.

"Oh sure, not the first time we've done that," Brad replied. He then smiled at his wife and said, "Soon we'll have two."

"Two extra kids?" Lily asked teasingly.

"Something like that," Brad said.

"Uno," Jacob said. He smiled when the adults looked at him and said, "You don't pay attention."

"And now since you've said that we will," Castle said jokingly.

Everyone around the table started to laugh before they turned their attention back to the game which ended up continuing for a little longer as Jacob had to pick up more cards his next turn. But finally Eve was putting own her last card and she raised her arms in the air before Julia hugged her.

"Alright, we're going to head out," Lily said.

"Tired?" Beckett asked in understanding.

"After what happened today? Yes," Lily replied.

"Oh, we're going too," Rebecca said quickly. "Mainly because we're going to finish up the last bit we need to do on our one case."

Beckett stood up with the others; the kids hurrying ahead of them; before they walked over to the entry. As soon as they were there she wrapped her arms tightly around Lily and said, "It's been a crazy day but again I'm so happy for the two of you."

"Thank you; again," the woman said, slightly laughingly. She squeezed her friend tighter and then laughed outright saying, "Again, our stomachs."

"Again, we're in our second trimesters," Beckett reminded her before they let go of each other. She gave Brad a brief hug before she said, "Nothing?" softly as her husband was hugging Lily.

"No, he's got another procedure and he'll get to McWilliams tomorrow morning," Brad said. When Beckett looked at him in confusion he explained, "He's switching them."

"Good thing but aren't we forgetting about Bledsoe?" Beckett asked.

"I thought of that myself," Castle said as they were all apart from the others.

"Me too," Brad told them. "And we'll look into him," he said with a slight nod. "Tomorrow."

After he'd ruffled Jacob's hair and Beckett had squeezed the boy's shoulder they watched as the Davises went out to their car in a hurry before Castle said, "Was that enough of a party?"

"It was just a dinner party," Rebecca said, going over to Beckett. She embraced her and said, "And it was a very nice one."

"Thank you," Beckett replied with a smile. "Next time we have a dinner though we'll plan it more in advance."

"Next time I think it's our turn," David said.

"We have to see," Castle said, shaking his hand. "But thank you for helping out."

"Thank you for taking our daughter," David said with a smile before he turned to Beckett and gave her a one-armed hug. "And we'll return the favor."

"Possibly this weekend," Rebecca said as she smiled at her daughters who were hugging each other goodnight. "Be good which you know already."

"I will," Mari replied as she then hugged her mother tightly. "Will you come to the school tomorrow? You don't have to if you're gonna be busy."

With a sigh Rebecca looked at her husband and said, "That would be nice."

"Then you can do that," Mari urged her.

"As long as you're sure," David replied. When she nodded rapidly he smiled and gave her a tight embrace before he picked up Dani.

"That's going to be a cold walk," Jim said as they watched the family leave.

"I don't think they mind," Castle said as he could tell they were walking rapidly. Once they were through the door next to the gate he said, "Alright, time for someone to be in bed."


	19. Keep On Holding You Tight (Part 2)

"Mommy I wanted Dani to stay for the night," Eliza said as her father picked her up.

"She's too young sweetie," Beckett said simply as they went over to the stairs in the entry and started going up.

"But Mommy-" Eliza started to say.

"Eliza," Beckett said simply. She wasn't surprised when the little girl slumped against Castle and said, "Can you three get dressed?"

"We're going now!" Julia said, taking her friends' hands and rushing over to her room. When they were inside she closed the door and said, "That was a really weird day."

"Especially for you and your sister," Eve said before they went to get their pajamas; she also had clothes there for when she would spend the night suddenly and soon had them on the bed.

"That was nothing," Julia said. "I think it was more what happened when me and Mari were going back into the school. And of course Lily."

Eve smiled for a moment and then said, "I heard the explosion and it scared me but then my teacher told me that I needed to go to the office and I was terrified."

"Did you know it was your mom?" Mari asked as she paused in changing.

Shaking her head Eve said, "I thought it was Dad and oh I thought he was hurt. But then I saw him and Mom in the office and I saw my mom's stomach first thing. And then when Jake reached us they told us we were going to have a little sister and we were excited. So it was super crazy. Sad and then excited."

"But at least it ended really nice," Julia pointed out as they made their way to the bathroom where her friends had toothbrushes to use as well as small tubes of toothpaste. "Really nice since you're gonna have a sister."

"Yeah," Eve said with a laugh before they took turns brushing their teeth.

"I don't get it," Castle said inside Eliza's room at that point.

"It was a busy day for her," Jim said quietly after he'd kissed his granddaughter on the forehead, carefully since she was fast asleep the second she'd hit the bed almost.

"It was," Beckett agreed. "Hopefully she'll sleep alright."

"She will, she knows everything's okay," Castle said. "That and she has the dogs with her." He leaned over and kissed Eliza's forehead; telling her he loved her; before he got out of the way of his wife who did and said the same to their youngest.

"Mommy?" Julia asked as she, Mari and Eve appeared in the doorway.

"Shh, she fell asleep," Castle said. "Come and say goodnight."

Looking at her friends Julia smiled as they remained where they were before she rushed to the bed and touched her sister's hand, whispering she loved her before they hurried outside. "Are you going to bed Grandpapa?"

"I am, try not to play too long with your friends," Jim said as he squeezed Mari and Eve's shoulders. He squeezed the latter's shoulder a little longer and said with a smile, "Congratulations, I'm looking forward to seeing your sister."

"Me too," the girl said with a wide smile. "Thanks."

Jim nodded before he turned to Julia and hugged her tightly saying, "I love you Julia, sweet dreams alright?"

"I will and I'm fine Grandpapa, thanks," Julia replied with a smile. "Love you too." She shared a kiss with him and then turned to her mother as she watched her grandfather hug her and then shake her father's hand. After they'd said goodnight to him she walked with her friends over to her room and she was about to ask her parents how much time they had left before her father was telling them all that before she could utter a word.

"You have about a half hour," Castle told them. "So we're going to get some tea and drink it downstairs-"

"But once we come up here you'll need to go to bed," Beckett finished.

"We will," Julia and Mari said together before Eve looked at them. When Castle and Beckett were gone the former asked, "What?"

"You almost sound like your parents," Eve told them. She smiled when the girls looked at each other and then giggled before she said, "What are we gonna do now though?"

"Well, I guess we could play truth or dare," Mari suggested.

"Sure at least it's not like playing spin the bottle," Eve said, rolling her eyes.

"When did you do that?" Julia asked, deciding then that her diary entry could wait until tomorrow. "Come on, let's go to the bed first," she told them before Eve could answer.

Once they were sitting on top of it Mari asked, "Yeah, when did you?"

"I went to that birthday party at Ross's house," Eve said, rolling her eyes. "He said we should play it but when he spun the first time and Stephanie Mackroy was landed on we decided it wasn't a really good game."

"But you went on a date with someone," Julia said.

"Yeah but I didn't kiss him," Eve said. "So Julia, truth or dare?"

"Um… truth?" she replied slowly and hesitatingly.

"Okay, do you have a crush on someone?" Eve asked.

"Yes. Truth or dare Mari?" Julia said, turning to her friend.

Smiling at Eve, who looked like she was going to protest, Mari then said, "Dare."

"I dare you to…" Julia said, looking around. "Try to pick up Eve."

"Wait, I'm gonna break her back!" the girl protested before they started to laugh together. When they'd stopped Eve said, "Okay, maybe it's stupid to play but we have time to do _something_."

Looking around her room for a moment Julia then said, "Well, if you ever kiss a boy what would you want him to look like?" When her friends looked at her; Mari with her eyes wide; she said, "My mom and her friend Patrick talked about that."

"Yeah but they were older," Eve pointed out.

"Did your mom ever say that she wanted to be with someone that looked like your dad?" Mari asked her friend.

"Nope, my mom said she never said what she wanted a guy to look like," Julia said. She then said, "But she doesn't mind my dad."

"Good thing," Eve said before they began to laugh together and as soon as they'd calmed down she then began to talk to Julia about her experiences at their school with the paranormal. That continued as she continued to talk to them about the others she had, and she and Mari listened, completely enthralled.

"You know these stories already," Julia said in slight embarrassment when she had finished and saw Mari looked as amazed as Eve.

"Yeah but still," the little girl said before they all started to laugh together.

"It doesn't scare you that much when it happens?" Eve then asked.

"No, I'm used to it now," Julia said. "And if you're gonna ask about the darker stuff… that never came to me."

"Think you're protected?" Mari asked.

Julia sucked in a large breath of air before she glanced at her slightly closed door before she said, "I think so." She wasn't surprised when the two shared a glance and she groaned before saying, "I hope my mom doesn't hear this."

"Well she won't if you don't say," Eve commented.

"My grandmama," Julia breathed out. She was startled when there was no reaction from her friends; they were just staring at her; and she said, "Nothing."

"She's behind you," Mari whispered.

Whirling around; as she'd been facing away from the door; Julia blanched at the sight of her mother and she said, "D-do we need to go to bed?"

"Not just yet," Beckett said, walking over to her. "And it doesn't surprise me if that's the case," she said cupping the back of her daughter's head once she'd reached her.

Staring up at her mother in shock Julia said, "No?"

"No," Beckett replied with a smile. "Now we're sorry to interrupt but we're going to head over to our room. We'll come back when you do need to go to bed."

"Julia?" Mari asked as she touched her friend's arm as she still looked shocked.

"I thought… I thought she would say I was crazy," Julia replied finally. "Or not believe me, I think I thought that the most."

"Didn't you say she feels some stuff too?" Eve asked.

"A little bit," Julia replied. She shook her head and said, "We should talk about something else though."

"Wait," Mari said quickly. "Have you seen your grandmama?"

"Yes," Julia said softly. "Not a lot," she told her friends. "But she's come to me at the school and told me it was better she goes there."

"'Cause of your mom?" Eve asked as Mari slid over to her and wrapped her arms around Julia.

"Yeah," she replied. She squeezed Mari's arm and then Julia said, "She doesn't really appear like Alfred did at the school, but I see her face in my mind and…"

"What?" Mari asked. She wasn't surprised when her friend looked back at the door and told her, "Tell just us."

Breathing out Julia said, "I think she's wearing what she was when she was…" waving her hand in the air slightly hoping they would know she meant when her grandmother had been killed.

"Oh… well I bet Alfred's wearing what he wore when whatever happened to him did," Mari said.

"That's true," Julia said thoughtfully. She smiled at her friend and then said, "But she's nice, she comes over every once in a while. We should talk about something else now."

"Is there a chance we could see her?" Eve asked. When Julia gave her a look she said simply, "I want to know, I'd like to see her," before she glanced over at Mari.

"Yeah but I wasn't able to see Alfred," she replied.

"You might not be able to see spirits," Julia said, looking at them both.

"I kinda froze when you saw Alfred," Mari said hesitantly to her friend. She nodded when Julia looked at her with wide eyes and shrugged before she said, "I just did."

"Hmm… maybe you could see something," Julia replied after studying her.

"Is it something you can teach?" Eve asked.

"No," Julia said, shaking her head. "But if she froze it's possible. We'll see. Okay, for sure now we need to talk about something else!"

Laughing with them Eve then said, "How is it with the dogs?"

"Great," Julia said, looking at the end of the bed where Macca, JoJo and Max were. "Why don't you have any dogs?"

"I don't know but Jake and I keep asking Mom and Dad," Eve replied. "Someday we'll get them," she said before she sighed. "That's what they tell us all the time. But now we see all your dogs…"

"You're gonna ask for six?" Mari asked.

When they stopped laughing again Eve said, "No, Jake and I want to get a Greyhound too. JoJo is good with kids right?"

"Yeah, has he ever attacked you?" Julia asked and pointed out to her.

Walking up to the door Castle smiled at his wife as he heard their daughter and her friends' laughter before they went inside. "Sorry guys," he said, unable to help laughing as the three stopped doing so immediately and groaned at the sight of them.

"We did let you talk just a little longer," Beckett told them. "For now get ready to lie down." She smiled as the three giggled and then began to playfully climb over each other before they settled down as they usually did when they were having sleepovers though they weren't lying down yet.

"Goodnight you two," Castle said, looking at Mari and Eve. "Have a great night and we'll see you in the morning for breakfast."

"Thanks Rick," Mari said first. "Night."

"Night," Eve said next with a smile.

"I should have sat down last," Julia said with a soft laugh before she crawled out and then went to her father. She hugged him tightly around the neck and said, "Night Daddy, I love you."

"I love you too sweetheart," Castle replied before he shared a kiss with her. "Night." He gave her a last embrace before getting out of the way for Beckett to take their oldest into her arms.

"I love you too Julia," she told her daughter, rubbing her back for a moment. When they pulled apart slightly Beckett said, "Sweet dreams…"

"Oh," Julia said in surprise as she looked down with her mother and remembered the bandages. She held them out as her mother started to take them off before she said, "Can I leave them off tomorrow?"

"I think so," Castle said first. "They look a lot better love."

"They do," Beckett replied. She then took the ointment that he'd hurried to get before she cleaned and then placed the salve on the cuts that were already diminishing. "And no, you don't need to put them back on tomorrow," she told their daughter. "Alright," she said when she had finished.

"Night Mommy, I love you," Julia said after her mother had left them quickly to wash her hands.

"Good night you two," Beckett said to Mari and Eve quickly as she was hugging Julia. She shared a kiss with her daughter before standing and smiling as the girl placed her hand on her stomach. "She just started," she told her.

"I can feel," Julia said. She smiled at her mother at the tapping underneath her hand but finally moved it so she could lie down. She watched her mother tucking her in and then waved at her parents when they stopped at the door to turn back to them. Once they were gone and the lights were off she smiled and said, "They're standing outside."

"I know, I think that means we need to go to sleep," Eve suggested.

Laughing Mari nodded and then said, "Night Eve."

"Night Mari, Julia," the girl replied.

"Night Eve," Julia added. She then turned to her best friend and hugged her as tightly as she could saying, "Night Mari."

"Night Julia," the little girl said with a smile before hugging her back tightly.

After she and Mari had let go of each other Julia laid down fully again and then looked up at the ceiling before her eyes began to flutter closed. She would have tried to stay awake to try and talk to her friends after her parents walked to their room, but she was soon asleep, too tired to stay awake to be able to do that though she didn't really mind in the end.

" _Tá siad amach_ ," Castle whispered gently to his wife as he took the chance to peer inside.

Beckett smiled at his Irish letting her know they were out and she peered inside herself to see that he was right. She turned to him and let him take her hand before she told him, " _Ta me ag cuimhneamh_ ," once they were at the stairs and away enough from the bedrooms.

" _What are you remembering_?" Castle asked in response to her statement.

" _That day we seem to keep thinking of_ ," Beckett replied with a smile.

" _What part of that day now_?" Castle asked as she stopped in front of their room. He was slightly startled when she merely smiled at him and he nearly gulped before he said, "Bath?" Her response was to pull him inside the room and he allowed her to do that, eager to let her lead them in whatever she wanted to do. As they soon ducked into their bathroom; their door closed and locked behind them; he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. The instant they'd parted he murmured to her, "I'm remembering too now."

Beckett smiled before they kissed again, and she continued to do so before she had to let him go. But she allowed herself to continue to remember that night, smiling as she couldn't forget their night once they'd reached her bathtub.

* * *

 _"So," Castle began with once she was in the tub with him._

 _Glancing at him as she was on her knees facing him Beckett said, "You want to start right away?"_

 _"Well… I guess we can take it easy," Castle replied, pretending to think that over for a moment. "But really…"_

 _"Not yet," Beckett said though she allowed him to wrap his arms around her. She wound hers about his neck and said, "What?" as he was watching her seriously._

 _"I should tell you I wasn't going to instigate anything; leaving it to you," Castle replied._

 _Thinking over that Beckett smiled and said, "I'm okay. And," she added quickly when he opened his mouth to speak. "You don't need to worry about me. Also, you can touch."_

 _"Oh, thank you I was waiting for that," Castle breathed out in mock relief. He reached up to her then and cupped his hands over her breasts carefully, groaning as she moaned softly and then let go. "Sorry I… that could have gotten out of control," he explained as she was looking at him questioningly._

 _"No, you're right," Beckett said with a smile. "But still you owe me."_

 _"I do," Castle said though he knew she wasn't completely serious. He grabbed her and kissed her as soon as she was close and held onto her tightly before he could feel her responding to him quickly. He let his hands span over her back and they parted before coming back together again passionately._

 _Pulling away from him when she needed to breathe a little more Beckett smiled and said, "In case you didn't realize I left."_

 _"Oh, I knew just… still remembering that," Castle replied, opening his eyes and smiling at her. He reached for her; since she wasn't in his embrace; and held her tight against his chest as the water sloshed against the sides of the tub. "Do you want to get out?" he murmured against her lips._

 _Allowing herself the moment to kiss him Beckett said, "I think we need to. Come on," before she moved to get out of the water. She was quick to start drying herself and as soon as she was out to keep him from doing so since it was quicker for them to dry off separately. He didn't come after her luckily and she was soon dry before reaching out for him and pulling him with her into the bedroom by his towel around his waist. She wasn't surprised when he was ready for her as soon as she turned to him and she smiled when her towel slipped off her easily. "You're eager," she told him._

 _"I know and I'm not apologizing for that," Castle said simply before they were kissing deeply. He wasn't surprised when she responded to him eagerly or that she was quickly divesting him of his towel. As he held her a little closer to him he was relieved when she raised her leg slightly to wrap around him and he grunted as the heat from her body was quick to affect his erection. "Kate…" he breathed out once they'd parted._

 _Pulling him gently by his arms Beckett took him with her over to the bed the rest of the way. She laid down first as he climbed on the mattress to watch her closely which made her move a little faster. As soon as she was settled she was taking her boyfriend into her arms before they were kissing again. While they were busy with that she was running her hands around his back, feeling him shuddering at her touch. When he pulled away from her she moaned in joy as he trailed down her neck around to her chest before he reached her breasts. She was almost frozen as he breathed slightly against them and she bit at her lower lip a little hard until he leaned down again._

 _When he pressed the first kiss to his girlfriend's left breast Castle couldn't help feeling some pride in the way she cried out in response. He moved over to her other breast and nuzzled it with his nose before he moved his lips. She was grabbing at him a little wildly but soon he was taking her right nipple with his mouth. Her nails scraped his scalp and he grunted slightly at the sensation but didn't stop, knowing she was enjoying it greatly. He suckled at her lovingly, trying to remember he needed to go over to her other breast before he moved to do so._

 _Beckett's body was on fire and she arched her back when Castle slid his right hand up her side and her skin literally rippled. It almost burst into flames when his mouth moved down to her stomach and she gasped, "You…"_

 _"I want to," Castle said quickly, pulling away from her to speak. When she nodded he began to trail his lips over her abdomen before moving back to speak again. "Were you going to stop me?" he asked her._

 _"No, I…" Beckett began to say before she trailed off once more. "I don't know, I thought you'd want to start right away."_

 _"This is starting," Castle told her hurriedly. When she smiled he moved abruptly, pushing himself up to he could press a kiss on her lips, relieved when she responded to him immediately. He wished he could hold onto her as she was doing the same to him but instead focused on trying to match her as her tongue proceeded to roll around his. It took them some time to finally stop but once they had he moved away and slid back down her body until he was at the junction of her legs. He was breathing out a little hard and wasn't surprised when she almost flinched against him in reaction. He took a quick moment to calm down and he then leaned down fully to brush his lips to her clit, waiting almost gleefully to see what her response would be._

 _Pressing herself down on the bed Beckett reached down for her boyfriend and told him, "I don't want to wait."_

 _"Are you sure?" Castle asked, startled. When she nodded he realized why that was and he was swift to move back up her body, kissing her deeply on the lips before he carefully pressed his hips down to hers. It was a way to test her and when her legs quickly wrapped around his he pulled away and murmured, "Are you ready?"_

 _Not answering Beckett took his hand and had him reach in between them, a moan bubbling up her throat when she felt his fingers brushing very lightly against her clit. "Not there," she whispered, too much affecting her to allow her to speak any louder than that._

 _"Here?" Castle asked though that was rhetorical as he knew where exactly she wanted him to go. As she moaned again in reaction he forced his hand away from her slick folds since he couldn't wait any longer and entered her with her hand helping him. After he was inside of her just enough he placed his weight more fully on his knees while he was taking her hands and setting them on either side of her head. As soon as she was ready he slid fully within her until finally they were coupled, and he nearly wheezed out, "I love you; again."_

 _Beckett smiled but it was short lived as she bit at her lower lip when he carefully moved and she finally could speak. "I don't… I don't th-think it matters how many times you say it," she told him, stammering as the friction between them was quick to affect her even as gentle as it was at that moment. She then slid her right hand from his back up to his head where she couldn't stop herself from digging her nails slightly into his scalp. He thrust a little harder before he calmed down and she told him in a kind of groan, "I love you but… please… harder."_

 _Just that simple phrase was enough to make him move faster and Castle was groaning in pleasure as his girlfriend was also before they were kissing abruptly. He could feel Beckett beginning to move with him a little more steadily and their hips were soon smacking together roughly. He moved away from her lips and went to her neck, kissing at it almost hungrily before he slowly pulled away to watch her. He was a little startled when she suddenly moved her arms up to the headboard and pushed against it. He wasn't sure why exactly but that made his arousal flare more than it already was and he leaned down to her lips, crushing them beneath his own._

 _Beckett was a little unsure then of where her legs were going exactly as she was more focused on how she was holding onto him with her hands. She was aware of the bed sheet underneath her as the cooler parts of it hit her skin, so she realized she was moving every so often. When Castle didn't try to stop her, she was aware he was fine with it and she moved her hands from his shoulders so her right was holding onto the back of his neck. She was startled when he slowed down before she realized he was trying to feel her more deliberately. She followed him quickly as she knew it wasn't going to hurt her to do so and she was quickly rewarded since she was able to feel him far better. She let out a heavy gasp before he sped up abruptly and she was clinging to him tightly. "Castle I can't…" she was just able to breathe out._

 _Castle tried to force himself to speak to her, to try and push her just a little more to the edge but he found he couldn't speak either. An idea then came to him and he tried to move down a little harder against her so he could reach her clit. He was relieved when he managed to do so and when he'd struck it twice he was finding himself sailing to his orgasm with her, listening to her calling his name just once before his voice joined hers with her name._

 _Trying her best not to claw at her boyfriend's back Beckett didn't know when she'd stopped nearly chanting his name, but once it had come to her she was beginning to slow down. It was only a short time later before she was stopping fully, and she held him to her tight while he gave her a few last thrusts that were rougher than the previous ones. She ran her hand over the back of his head and murmured, "I'm assuming that was our playing?"_

 _"The start," Castle replied, recovered enough to be able to speak._

 _"The start?" Beckett said._

 _Castle didn't answer that verbally, moving to lay next to her before he pulled her to him. They began to kiss deeply as soon as she was against him and he hoped she was going to follow him in his desire to not let their night end just yet. But from the way she was kissing him back and holding onto him he thought he knew the answer already._

* * *

"How many times?" Beckett asked.

"How many times what?" Castle replied, watching his wife as she had her arms on the side of the tub, looking out the window at the snow that was falling there.

"That night," Beckett stated after looking at him out of the corner of her eye.

Castle wanted to make some kind of wise ass comment but realized there was a reason a smirk was curling up the corners of her lips. He breathed out hard and then said, "At least three. More?" he asked when she just stared at him.

"Twice that," Beckett said wryly. "We were lucky Julia didn't have a nightmare."

"Or else wake up well before we did the next morning," Castle said with a slight smile as he could recall she was right. "That was what you wanted wasn't it?"

"It was a while ago," Beckett told him. "Eventually… I think after the third time, I was keeping you on top of me."

"I remember now," Castle replied, nodding his head. "Are you getting cold?" he asked her.

"I'm fine," Beckett said. "But it was an interesting day; we never really repeated it unless we were snowed in."

"The next time was when we were there for Christmas wasn't it?" Castle asked her.

"It was and that's basically when we do it now," Beckett said.

"Do you want to do that another day?" Castle asked.

"I might have to on my own," Beckett replied, glancing down at her abdomen.

Castle moved over closer to her and said, "Is she moving?"

"No," Beckett said, shaking her head. "One thing though, since we're talking about the kids indirectly. We're not going to spoil Julia with her birthday, are we?"

"Oh no, eleven is a big age," Castle replied. "And we'll only do this once since she only turns eleven once. Why, are you thinking we will?"

Beckett smiled a little and then said, "Slightly but… she deserves it after all she's been through." She wasn't surprised when her husband wrapped his arm around her and then pulled her over to him. She kissed him in return as soon as his lips were brushing against hers. When they parted she started to speak but hesitated before she kissed him, keeping it very quick before they were pulling apart again and he then moved away from her, asking her a question as he did so.

"We're set on that now right?" Castle asked.

"Yes," Beckett said simply. "Do you want to get out?"

"Probably should," Castle said with a nod before he stood up with her and stepped out first. "If you're still thinking about that night," he told her as she looked at him with her eyebrow slightly raised. "Way back when I'm changing things up a little."

"So we're following that night?" Beckett asked. "Six times?"

Pausing as he was opening the towel to use to dry her off Castle said, "Do you want to?"

Shaking her head Beckett said, "I'm a little tired and it's harder for me to keep you on top of me for that long. Especially since you keep worrying. And we have others here and they have school tomorrow."

Breathing out heavily Castle said, "Probably better we wait until… later to try that again."  
"I don't think we really try," Beckett pointed out to him with a slight smile as she watched him starting to dry her off.

"No, I'll agree with you there," Castle said quickly before he finished. He let her take the towel and then dried himself off as she leaned against the sink counter and he then told her, "But at the very least…"

"I'll give you once; maybe twice," Beckett said, smiling again. "If you can."

"Is that a dare?" Castle asked, following her.

Beckett merely smiled over her shoulder at her husband before she went out to their bed, sitting on the edge of it and watched him turning on the fire before he came over to her. "Don't," she told him quickly as he started to kneel.

"Well…" Castle began before he then turned and went to where his brace was. "It's the snow," he said as he glanced over at his wife and realized from just her gaze that she wanted him to join her. He rushed to do so, even though he hadn't put on the brace yet.

"You can put it on," Beckett told him with a smile.

"It's not really that sexy," Castle pointed out.

"I think you underestimate me," Beckett said. When her husband looked at her questioningly she smiled a little wider and told him, "Movements can be sexy."

"Can I call you a pervert?" Castle asked while he slid the brace on his leg before he stood to get it set on his knee.

"No," Beckett said simply, keeping her eyes on him until he was finished. "You have something in mind, don't you?" she said. When he hesitated she said, "I told you I'd be willing to attempt something you've seen before but you have to tell me what it is."

Taking a deep breath Castle said, "It surprises me."

"I know, tell me," Beckett replied.

"Okay," Castle said. "There was this one movie I saw a long time ago where there was a pill that made women…"

"Oh, I've seen that one," Beckett said when he trailed off. She smiled when he looked at her in surprise and she told him, "A pill that made them gush when they orgasmed, that was… a long time ago obviously but I have seen that."

"You owned it?" Castle asked slowly.

"I saw it on the internet," Beckett said. "You know there was a guy that had what you do."

Glancing down at himself Castle asked, "Yeah that's where I kind of wanted to take from."

"Well we won't be able to recreate it exactly," Beckett told him with a slight smirk as she stood to remove her towel. "We're not going to be outside in the desert and I'm not taking that… whatever the hell that pill was supposed to be."

"I don't want you to," Castle said, recovering a little after seeing her body. "Just the position." He then frowned slightly and asked, "Would you be able to do it?"

"Didn't he take her in the-" Beckett began.

"Not that position," Castle replied, recalling that as well.

"I'm not sure," Beckett said as she remembered what he was talking about. "We can try though. But do you mind if we fool around a little first?"

"Okay," Castle said, his voice a little strangled as his imagination was going wild at the words fool around. He went to her and picked her up to carry her around the bed so he could lay her down on the middle, joining her as he'd taken off his towel to put on his brace, kissing her as hard as he possibly could while she soon responded.

After a while, and them starting a second kiss, Beckett eventually pushed up on her husband's shoulder. She was relieved when he got up, a little amazed as he pulled her with him and never broke their kiss. They caressed one another as much as they could while they were continuing to kiss but finally they were stopping so they would have the chance to catch their breath. Looking at her husband Beckett reached up with a smile and ran her thumb along his lower lip before telling him, "That wasn't what I meant by fooling around."

"You wanted more?" Castle replied. When she leaned into him he kissed her and deeply though more sensuously than passionately. Eventually they slowly parted and he said, "How?"

Beckett thought for a moment of what she wanted to do exactly; as she'd been about to allow him to do whatever he wanted to with her; but then changed her mind. She grabbed him and forced him down onto his back before she straddled him. "Like this," she told him easily, a smirk on her face.

"Okay," Castle said simply.

Smiling at his tone Beckett said, "You could use some pillows behind you you know."

"Oh… I guess I could…" Castle began to say. He sat up and propped them behind him before he felt there were enough. Laying back he asked, "Any reason why?"

"Can you explain when you want to do this?" Beckett asked instead of answering.

"That's true," Castle replied. "Alright…" he said. "We can… go ahead."

"Thanks for your permission," Beckett told him teasingly before she leaned down and brushed her lips to his. He tried to keep her down with him but she avoided him, getting up so she could move and be able to kiss his chest. But as she began that she paused as she realized it was going to be a little difficult.

"Wait," Castle said, noticing quickly that her stomach was in the way. He sat up fully and said, "Better?"

"I think, I might have to let you take over," Beckett replied. She smiled when her husband did and then leaned over, kissing him before she moved down to his chest. It was a little easier to kiss him there but finally she sighed and said, "Now you need to lie down."

"It's alright," Castle said quickly as it wasn't hard to miss the frustration in her voice. He cupped her cheek tenderly and told her, "I don't mind moving and it keeps me from exploding."

Beckett laughed softly before she watched him lying back on the pillows, studying him closely. She sighed in her frustration and told him, "I don't think I can use my mouth."

"Did you want to," Castle said slowly. She nodded, and he said, "I don't really want to but… I can stand."

"That would be fine," Beckett said.

As she looked at him questioningly Castle sighed and said, "It feels like I'm demeaning you somehow."

"Get up," Beckett told him with a smile. She got out of his way for him to do that and as soon as he was standing in front of her she reached over, taking him with her hand. As he hissed at the way her fingers curled open and closed a few times she reached up with her thumb, running it around the tip of him.

"Oh god, Kate you need to stop," Castle breathed out heavily. "I'm going to come," he then quickly explained. When she let him go he told her, "That was amazing."

"I barely did anything," Beckett pointed out as she let him take her to the bed.

"It was enough," Castle said, kissing her. He waited for her to lay on her side before he then lay on his own behind her. "I'm selfish," he told her.

"Oh?" Beckett asked, breathing a little hard as he was gently fondling her sex as she drew her right leg back to hook over his.

"Yeah, I can touch you all I want here," Castle murmured as he prepared to enter her.

"Then just…" Beckett trailed off before she moaned heavily in pleasure as he finally slipped within her and continued to do so. "Oh… Rick just let me… touch you after."

"I will," Castle breathed as he kissed at her shoulder that he could reach. He was fully coupled with her then and he said, "You can do whatever you want." Before she could reply to him he was thrusting and doing so rapidly as he knew already what she wanted from him. As his wife cried out in pleasure he reached for her breasts, touching them as carefully as he could before she reached back to him. He knew what she sought with that and he began to kiss her, doing so hungrily before he lowered his hand from her chest to her legs as their tongues were curling around each other wildly the best they could.

When her husband began to gently trail his fingertips over her folds around himself Beckett cried out against his mouth before she tried to move even harder against him. He steadied her and she was relieved for that before he reached over to her clit. She broke off their kisses then and cried out as hard as she could as the pleasure was instant and she couldn't resist it. She lost her uncertainty that had been building up in her for a little as everything took over for the moment and she allowed it to. But eventually she couldn't forget how they were in that moment and she said finally, "Rick, please!"

Hearing the slight distress in his wife's voice Castle quickly stopped and then pulled away from her saying, "What is it?"

Laying on her back and then looking at him Beckett opened her mouth to speak before she slowly shook her head and tried to turn away.

"No, don't," Castle told her swiftly, stopping her. He turned her to face him before he leaned down and tenderly kissed her saying, "It wasn't the right time," as they'd used positions similar to that one before.

"I wish-" Beckett started to say, calming down after her panic at not seeing her husband's face.

"No, it's alright," Castle told her reassuringly. He smiled and then brushed his lips tenderly against hers telling her, "I think I want to see you fucking me now."

Biting at her lower lip Beckett smiled and then said, "I would like that myself." She got up as he did and then straddled him saying, "I hope we can last."

"Maybe the pause we just had helped?" Castle suggested. He smiled when she laughed slightly and then leaned over, kissing her before he felt her moving. "Just getting into that," he said in a mock complaining tone.

"You don't mind," Beckett told him teasingly before with his help she lowered herself on him. She didn't pause or stop, just let herself fall until their hips were pressing together. She nuzzled her lips against his and then began to move as they held onto each other as tightly as they could. She immediately began to angle her hips down to get her clit to brush against his skin and sighed when it worked quickly and that made her swiftly move away. "Love…" she sighed as he went quickly down to her neck.

"Kate you're… you're playing with… with fire," Castle groaned as her reactions to her extra pleasure were affecting him as well. She was flexing a little harder around him with every brush against him and it was getting to be almost too hard to handle.

"I know but… I can't stop," Beckett breathed heavily. She moved back slightly and allowed him to cup her breasts with his hands before she murmured to him lovingly, "You're amazing," stopping moving at the same time.

"So are you," Castle said. "I was hoping we could last but…"

"Don't worry, it's a compliment we can affect each other that much," Beckett replied simply. She smiled and brushed her lips to her husband's before she gently ran her fingers through his hair. As he shuddered she said, " _It's so hard to resist you_."

" _I feel the same about you, can I have you now_?" Castle replied eagerly.

Beckett was smiling again and then began to move on him instead of answering him, making them both groan in pleasure as the joy was swift to return to them. She went a little slower at first; just letting her body trail against his front as gradually as she could go though it was mostly her stomach touching him. When he groaned loudly she knew he didn't mind that and she finally started to speed up before she wrapped her arms around him and crushed her lips against his. She moaned against her husband's mouth as she was quick to be affected by him again and her body felt deliciously hypersensitive. Though she wasn't trying to her clit was brushing against him again and she gasped out his name that luckily got his attention while he was kissing around her pulse on the right side of her neck.

"Are you close Kate?" Castle whispered against her skin. When she said a heavy, "Uh-huh," he tried not to smile though he had a lot of help from all the pleasure he was feeling. As soon as he had calmed down enough to speak he then said, "I'm so close too love… I want to come so fucking badly you feel… _iontach_ ," not sure why he'd translated the word amazing so quickly. He didn't bother as he was enjoying listening to his wife moan which in turn seemed to travel through her body and to where he was moving within her. He tried his best to get control of himself and once he had he told her, "You need to… please Kate come now."

As harsh as her husband's voice had been Beckett was shocked when she didn't immediately climax, but she couldn't explain it while she edged closer to it. When her husband very gently bit at her pulse she fell jarringly over the edge and she cried out his name given that her orgasm was strong and swift. She was clutching at Castle as tightly as she could when he shortly after he followed her and the ecstasy within her seemed to strengthen inexplicably. Trying not to claw at his back she kept on calling his name while he was doing the same to her with her name before she could feel her body cresting her peak. She slowed down soon after that realization and held onto him as tightly as she could since he was continuing to move almost faster because he was on his knees. When everything stopped she found she was still throbbing and still feeling friction between them both as he was moving. When he gave a couple last thrusts and groaned out her name in a strangled tone she was ready to take his weight against her before he pulled away quickly. "I'm okay," she told him quickly.

"Are you sure?" Castle asked.

"Yes, and if you're going to make me come a second time then you need to shake that because I want you on top of me," Beckett told him with a smile before she leaned over to him to kiss him. She had intended that to be a little short, but he took over and they were slipping into a third and fourth kiss before she realized it. When they parted she smiled at him and said, "You still enjoyed that."

"You did too, you were throbbing for a while," Castle replied.

"I did," Beckett said simply. She then said, "Mind if I get off you?"

"Sure, you didn't need to ask," Castle told her before he helped her get off him. He sighed when he left her fully and said, "I would prefer you to stay there."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said as she sat next to him. She was going to speak again when she felt a tap against her stomach and smiled saying, "She was waiting."

"What for though?" Castle asked, reaching over and letting her guide his hand to where the baby was continuing to kick.

"Attention I guess," Beckett replied. The baby stopped then and turned slightly she could feel before it became still making her say, "She's done now."

"Okay, good because I wanted the chance to do this," Castle told her before he leaned over and kissed her hard on the lips. He lingered but for so long that when they parted he realized she was laying on her back. "So… sleep?" he asked as they stared at each other for a long time.

"No, you owe me," Beckett replied, reaching for him so he would lay down next to her. As soon as she was she turned onto her side to face him and kissed him while her hand was reaching for him to run it down his chest.

Breathing out heavily when they parted Castle did his best to watch her as her hand went down further to his abdomen, her nails raking there which made him shudder heavily in pleasure. "Kate," he breathed out as she carefully took his erection that hadn't diminished yet.

"I'll be careful," Beckett said though she already knew what she wanted to do. She proceeded to stroke him and did so meticulously and slowly. She did her best to pay attention to her husband, not wanting him to get off yet exactly. But after a while of her fingers working around his length and under it as well, she cupped him gently.

"Yeah that's… ah fuck," Castle hissed heavily as he could feel her moving her fingers even as she was doing that. "You're going to make me come," he groaned heavily in his pleasure.

"Maybe that's what I want," Beckett murmured to him with a smile. When he just grunted weakly she did her best to pull him onto her, luckily having his help when he realized what she was doing. She drew him into her and he did the rest before they were coupled tightly and she flexed herself around him before he seemed to snap.

Swearing bitterly for a moment Castle then called his wife's name repeatedly since he couldn't stop himself from thrusting in her and repeatedly as well before he stopped. "I didn't…" he said when he could speak again a bit later.

"You weren't," Beckett breathed out softly.

"Did you come?" Castle asked, looking at her in surprise. When she smiled he did the same and then leaned down to kiss her, doing that for just a bit before he moved away from her. "You're throbbing again," he said as he wrapped his arms around her to pull her against his side.

"Is that a complaint?" Beckett asked him with a small smile.

"Oh no, said in appreciation," Castle assured her. He leaned over and gently kissed her before he moved his right hand and then brushed his fingertips lightly against her front as she sighed softly. "You said twice; just before doesn't count," he told her.

"I did," Beckett replied. She leaned over to him and kissed him before saying, "Is this your turn to play?"

"It is," Castle said, unable to help sounding eager. He took a moment to carefully play with her nipples before he continued and didn't stop until he reached the apex of her legs. He wasn't surprised to find her clit very easily, trying not to touch her too hard or for too long though eventually he just brushed against the swollen nub. As soon as he stopped he said, "Good?"

"Rick," Beckett said in slight frustration. When he settled on top of her she pulled him to her closer though she knew he was trying to keep enough away from her stomach. She wasn't sure if they'd helped each other or if it was just him but soon enough he was within her firmly and she kissed him the second his lips were close enough for that and they were soon thrusting together as rapidly as they could.

Moving hard against one another Castle and Beckett became a little lost in their quest for a third orgasm though they were only counting it as the second one for the time being. When they finally climaxed, they were doing so roughly yet again until they were limp together on the bed, Castle doing his best not to crush her with his weight.

"I'm still concerned Rick," Beckett said to him.

"I don't think you need to be," Castle told her, knowing what she was talking about. "I know that you won't feel up to this all the way through and we've been through this before Kate, I can wait until you have our baby and then we can be together again." He made a slight face and said, "I didn't mean to make that sound like a soap opera."

"I know," Beckett said, a smile on her face. "And I will be playing around with you during that time."

"Alright, as long as you don't mind that," Castle said. "Well I could pleasure you at the same time."

"That would be nice," Beckett told him. She leaned over and then kissed him deeply before she pulled back and said, "But in the meantime I just realized that I'm…"

Castle was slightly startled when his wife pulled his hand down but the second his fingers brushed against her folds he said, "You want me."

"As much as you want me," Beckett replied with a wide smile as he was still erect. "Take me lover," she told him.

"I adore you Kate," Castle said huskily. "I love you."

"I love you too Rick," Beckett told him before he quickly entered her. She encouraged him and shortly after they were making love roughly together once more and she decided that if they did mimic the night they'd been recalling she couldn't mind it. The ecstasy she was feeling with her husband was extremely satisfying and she knew he felt the same as he was desirous with his body and words. She gave herself over, forgetting everything else but him and what they could give to one another as they couldn't stop pleasing each other so fervently yet again.


	20. Like The Truth's Been Told

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: With the difficulties the site was having in getting reviews to appear I am definitely happy to have gotten the feedback I did for the last chapter so I will get to my thank yous right away! MsNYC (Yep, definitely wanted to convey that everyone was happy so great that you mentioned it. And no surprise you said all you need is for Alexis and Louis to be there too. And it was nice to read that you were glad Julia had both her friends there. And it made me laugh a bit at how you said they're all like family anyway but you're definitely right about that. Not surprised you loved the flashback again, lol. And you're right, I figured Lily wouldn't want to tell Beckett about the pregnancy because their husbands are old friends too and, they know each other very well so Castle might figure out Beckett has a secret or something like that and he might have revealed it to Brad in some way. So yeah, good thought process since that was mine, lol. Really pleased you were happy about that lovemaking. And you made a point about them doing that, good release of stress from the case and as you said a chance for them to just be together. So happy to see you thought it was great writing as usual. And of course nice to read that you though they were tasteful love scenes at the end!),

TORONTOSUN (Great reading you thought the first half of the chapter was a good one! And of course, I'm pleased you thought the second half was an amazing chapter for Castle and Beckett since I'm guessing you enjoyed reading the love scenes, lol!),

Mb (I was happy to read that you thought the first half was a very sweet chapter. And yeah, I want the family to be close enough that Martha and Alexis will still be involved in what's going on with the others though they aren't there physically with them. Glad you thought the dinner party was lovely and that it was a perfect way to celebrate the baby Brad and Lily are expecting but as you said them only having minor injuries, so they were all okay. Great you loved the flashback with the poker game, I was wondering what readers would think about it. But it was nice to see you loved Beckett holding her own and possibly schooling the other writings, lol, I always thought she would have been able to no problem. Pleased to see you thought it was a great update. And you're welcome for the first half! Of course, I'm really happy that you thought the second half was fantastic, amazing, hot and loving all in one since I do my best to get all of those. I'm so glad you think I write their love with a sensuality and passion that, as you said, is truly remarkable, I do my best! Great you think it was beautifully written. And you're welcome for this second half as well!) and

vetgirlmx (Of course I was really happy to see you thought the chapter was very nice. I'm not surprised to see you were eager to see the dinner party since as you said it's been a while since I had one before. And you're also right about there not being one in the middle of a case, lol, there wasn't a reason before now to put that. And yeah, lol, you're right it was needed as they did have something to celebrate this time. I'm glad you were curious about the card games they had with the other authors since I've been wanting to write Beckett playing with them since I had the idea of her writing with Castle and finally managed to fit it in. And yeah, I never thought they'd be with Beckett like they were with that guy in season three, mainly because she gives off more… confidence I suppose I want to say, lol. But I'm glad you thought it was nice to be told the story and too that you enjoyed it greatly! Nice to see you also enjoyed Julia's explanation about why she thinks she has protection from negative spirits from the supernatural. And I actually got that from others I've seen with abilities like hers, they'll have a spirit protector that will assist them when there's something darker. But I can see why that would be logical in a weird way as you said. And not surprised that you believed that Beckett would agree with that idea though Julia was nervous about what her mother would think in the end, I agree with that myself, lol. You caught what I was doing with this chapter; not surprised you did; that they had a nice respite from the case. And I'm also not surprised that you're hoping the next day they'll have the chance to finally catch the bomber as you put it. I'm really pleased you're eager to see what happens next and since of course it means you want to read more which you can now and find out!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them all and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Tears of the World_ by George Harrison, from the original rejected track list of his album _Somewhere in England_.

Like The Truth's Been Told

Opening his eyes slowly Castle realized something was just off to his side and he blinked a few times before he focused on his wife who was next to their bed. "Morning love," he said, pushing himself up.

"Morning," Beckett said with a smile as he seemed to focus on her a little more.

"How long have you been up?" Castle asked as he realized she was wearing his robe.

"Not long," Beckett said, removing the robe then while he watched. She climbed onto the bed but went over her husband to grab her phone from her nightstand.

Castle was watching her closely; since she was naked; and he said, "How long do we have?"

With a smile Beckett told him, "Fifteen minutes." At his groan she told him, "I know but we have something else we can do until that point," before she rushed over to him and threw her arms around him tightly, kissing him deeply as he hurried to respond.

Running his hands over his wife's body as much as he could Castle tried to keep from getting too aroused as he tried to keep in mind they didn't have the time to do much more than what they were. When they finally stopped he said, his voice tinged with frustration, " _Is mian liom raibh mé in ann tú ceart anois_."

Beckett smiled at his saying he wished he could take her right now; since his Irish was nearly hissed through his teeth; and she said, "So do I but we don't have the time. _Is mian liom raibh muid cé_ ," adding that she wished they did though in Irish as something made her translate that.

Sighing Castle said, "A quickie…?"

Thinking that over Beckett said, "We could but it wouldn't be satisfying enough." She was going to add more to that, but her phone alarm was beginning to ring and she smiled as he groaned heavily in disappointment. "I was going to tell you we can try when we come home."

"That would be awesome," Castle said seriously. "But your dad…"

"I could use a massage," Beckett said pointedly as she pushed herself up to look down at him.

" _I love you_ ," Castle breathed out in Irish.

" _I love you too_ Rick," Beckett replied with a smile. She leaned down and brushed her lips against his before getting up and waiting for him to do so as well. They got dressed quickly and she was putting on her makeup after putting her hair into a ponytail before she realized something. "I just remembered Mari and Eve don't have their school things," she told her husband who was leaning against the counter next to her to watch her since he was ready.

"We can pick up Mari's… I'll text Brad… or Lily," Castle said, leaving her reluctantly to go get his phone. He looked up as she came out to him and said with a smile, "Lily will be at the school with Jake; Brad's going in early to see Thayer."

"He doesn't want us with him?" Beckett asked.

"You are apparently in trouble and by virtue of marriage… so am I," Castle replied, handing her his phone.

Beckett scanned the conversation he'd had with his friend and sighed before saying, "I guess this shouldn't surprise me," since it had come from Scarsi and Coupe that they would need to stay home. "But I wonder if they're going to allow us back once they hear the results."

"I don't know but we better get going," Castle told her.

Nodding in agreement that they needed to get the kids to school Beckett handed him his phone before they stepped out into the hallway to find Julia standing at the top of the stairs looking down. "Sweetie?" she asked in surprise.

"I…" Julia said before she shivered with her parents at the literal blast of cold air between them. "I'm awake," she told her mother quickly, backing up from her as she walked over to her.

"Julia what's wrong?" Beckett said, a little hurt that her daughter was trying to walk away from her.

"Nothing," the girl said, shaking her head quickly. "I-I'll go get ready." Julia started to turn around before she felt her mother's hand on her shoulder. "Mommy I-" she started to say miserably and nearly in tears.

All of a sudden Eliza ran out from her room and she cried out at the sight of her big sister, "I saw her Jules! I saw Grandmama!"

Julia's head snapped to her mother before she saw they were looking behind them and she turned back as well. "Grandpapa," she whispered seeing he was standing just inside the hall after stepping out of his room.

"What's going on?" Mari asked as she and Eve stepped out into the hall themselves. "Did you come to see us?" she asked Castle and Beckett.

"When?" Beckett asked, a little annoyed at the way everything was happening at once to keep her from finding out what Eliza was talking about and what was wrong with Julia.

"Last night," Mari explained.

Julia; when her parents shook their heads no; bit her lower lip when everyone looked at her and seeing the way her mother was looking at her lovingly she sighed heavily. "I was… I was talking to Grandmama last night," she told them, tears in her eyes by the time she stopped speaking. She lowered her head so no one would see that but when her mother wrapped her arm around her she quickly looked up at her. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Beckett replied. "But what was wrong with you just now?"

"She was here," Julia said after she hesitated for a moment. "But just for a second, she said that she wanted to see the new baby."

"It's not born yet," Mari couldn't stop herself from pointing out.

"She will once it's here," Julia said. She looked up at her mother and bit her lower lip before saying, "I think the baby is going to be like me and Lizzy too."

"We'll see," Beckett said slowly as she knew her husband was watching her. "But for now, you guys need to get dressed and we need to have breakfast before you're late."

"I can take Eliza, Katie," Jim told his daughter.

"Then we'll be downstairs working on breakfast," Castle said, taking his wife's hand.

"Wait!" Eliza cried out before she ran down to her parents. She hugged them tightly saying, "Morning!"

"Good morning sweetie," Beckett said with a smile, embracing her back before she did the same to Julia who came back to hug her.

"Don't take too long," Castle said as the girls went over to him to hug him next. "We'll have breakfast ready really soon."

"Good," the two said at the same time before they smiled and laughed together.

"We'll be downstairs," Beckett said, smiling at the girls.

"Hey, Julia," Eve said to the girl, touching her arm as she was looking after her parents though they were gone. "We better get ready," she said when her friend turned to her.

"Oh… yeah that's right," Julia said before she followed her two friends over to her bedroom.

"You really saw her," Mari said softly when they were inside and the door was closed.

"And talked to her," Eve said. She frowned as she was grabbing her clothes; she'd had a spare sweater and trousers there as well as Mari; before she said, "Did she hear us talking about her last night?"

"No," Julia replied. "She talked to Alfred," she began carefully.

"You can tell us," Mari said, going over and holding her hand tightly. "We believe you."

Breathing out a sigh Julia said, "I told Alfred in my mind while I was leaving school that if he could see my grandmama tell her I wanted to see her. I guess he could."

"Tell us about when you saw her last night," Eve said. She saw that Julia was going to protest when she hurriedly told her, "We'll still get ready."

"And we won't tell your mom," Mari said as she hugged her friend tightly.

"Okay," Julia said, taking off her pajama top as she turned away from her friends so they'd have privacy as well. While she was telling them about what had happened the night before when she'd been woken up she could recall everything clearly as she'd made sure that she would remember before going back to sleep.

* * *

 _Julia_

 _Her eyes slowly blinking open Julia looked over to the side of her bed, expecting to see her mother there. But when she saw her room was empty she frowned as it then came to her that it hadn't been her mother's voice that had spoken._

 _Julia_

 _At the second utterance of the voice Julia sat up and looked to the doorway before she realized that Macca had raised his head as well. "It's okay boy," she murmured to him softly, glancing at Mari and Eve on either side of her. She heard the woman saying her name again and, in a rush, it came to her who it was. She climbed out of the bed as quickly as she could, going over to where she could slip down to the ground. Macca followed her, and she placed her hand on his neck before they walked out to the hallway. She looked around before turning to the library and walking swiftly down there as she tried to ignore the cold on her feet._

 _"Grandmama?" Julia whispered as she went to the corner where two of the book shelves met._

 _I'm here, the spirit said, making Julia turn around quickly to look at her._

 _Swallowing a little hard the girl said, "Hi Grandmama."_

 _Are you afraid of me?_

 _Julia smiled at the slightly hazy and transparent vision of her grandmother and shook her head saying, "No but I never saw you this… oh. Wait the door!" She rushed to it and closed it quickly saying, "I don't want anyone to wake up. How come you came to see me?"_

 _Alfred said you wanted me to. And I heard what you said to your friends earlier, Johanna replied._

 _"I didn't think that would happen here though," Julia said though she was still smiling widely. "I thought you'd come to see me at school; me and Lizzy. Mari too but she's not ready to see yet I guess. Will she?"_

 _I don't know, Johanna said, a slight smile on her face. You're alright?_

 _"Yeah, they're not pretty but I'm okay now," Julia said, knowing her grandmother meant her arms. "So… we can't talk that long can we?"_

 _Your mother wouldn't be very happy if I kept you awake when you have school, Johanna told her._

 _Sighing Julia then said, "I will get to see you again right? Maybe more clearly?"_

 _Maybe, Johanna said smiling. This was just to see if you can see me now._

 _"I can, oh Grandmama, I love you," Julia said earnestly. "Please come back."_

 _I'm always with you honey, Johanna told her. So I will come to you if you'd like. But now you need to go to bed. But before you do I love you too Julia._

 _Breathing out heavily at the cold when her grandmother disappeared Julia sighed before she said, "Oh shoot… Grandmama if you can hear me please go see Lizzy, she wants to see you a lot too." She got no answer but she had a feeling she'd heard her so she left the library, tiptoeing to her bed with Macca before she settled in between Eve and Mari. As she fell asleep then she smiled, knowing her sister would likely be seeing their grandmother very soon which made her happy as she didn't want to be the only one to. She hoped Eliza would be able to talk to her as well since she knew her little sister really wanted to before she nodded off completely._

* * *

"It wasn't for that long," Julia said as she finished telling her friends about earlier that morning. "But then I realized she was downstairs, so I went to look down and she told me she wanted to see the baby."

"Wouldn't that be bad for the baby?" Eve said, sitting on the bed as they were finished getting ready. "You said that when she left you were a little tired."

"Just a little and no because she said she would have to go with me," Julia informed them. "But I would let her 'cause she can't without me."

"So she's your… helper?" Mari asked though she made a face.

"I don't know," Julia said with a sigh. "But that would be nice if she could be."

"Your sister saw her," Eve told her.

"Yeah, I have to ask her what happened," Julia said thoughtfully.

"Think she'll tell your grandfather about that?" Mari asked her quickly.

Thinking for a moment Julia said, "I think so." She bit at her lower lip and said, "I just hope he doesn't get sad." Shaking her head, she said, "Let's go before breakfast is too cold," and they left the room together to head down to the kitchen.

* * *

"Grandpapa?" Eliza asked as she watched him grabbing her clothes after they'd gone into her room from where they'd been with everyone else by the stairs.

"You can tell me honey," Jim told her as he walked over to the bed.

"I didn't see Grandmama for too much," Eliza said slowly, not sure if she wanted to tell him then. "But she said she loved me and you too."

"She talked about me?" Jim said in surprise.

With a nod Eliza told him, "She said I was gonna see you tomorrow so tell you that she loves you very much."

Jim breathed out heavily before he tried to focus on getting to the bed so he could get his granddaughter ready for school. He was quiet for so long that at hearing Eliza whimper he became startled and then looked at her. "What's wrong?" he asked her.

"Are you sad?" the little girl asked him.

"I do miss your grandmama," Jim began as he helped her change. "But I'm glad you were able to see her."

"Me too," Eliza said before she wound her arms around him tightly as she was dressed for school by then, letting him pick her up. "I love you Grandpapa," she told him seriously after she pressed a kiss to his cheek while he carried her to the bathroom.

"I love you too Eliza," Jim said with a smile. He kissed her cheek and told her, "We should hurry so you're not late for school either okay?"

"Kay," Eliza said. She watched her grandfather grab her brush and said, "I'll tell Grandmama if I see her again that you love her so much too."

"Thank you honey," Jim told her with a smile. He kissed her cheek and took her back out to the room when she asked him something.

"Can I tell my mommy about that?" Eliza asked him when he started to brush her hair.

"I think so, she'll want to know now," Jim replied. "But not until she asks you."

"I know," Eliza replied with a smile. She then thought of her mother, wondering what she was doing at that moment with her father as Jim finished her hair and they walked together out of her room to go down to the kitchen.

* * *

"Do you believe her?" Castle asked as he was cracking the last egg he needed for the first omelet in a bowl.

"I do," Beckett replied, looking at him as she was leaning against the island. "She wouldn't be so hesitant to tell us about this if she was lying. Also, she wouldn't have any reason to lie about it either."

"Then that means your mother…" Castle replied.

Beckett sighed before she felt the baby kick her and she placed her hand on her stomach telling him, "I know what it means but I can't… I can't comprehend this Rick. It's too much."

"I know," Castle said. He looked down at the eggs he'd quickly whisked with a fork before he said, "If I could I would hug you right now."

"Thank you," Beckett said with a smile. "But we need to start breakfast."

"You don't need to help me," Castle told her as he watched her getting another three eggs.

"No but there are seven of us that need omelets love," Beckett replied, cracking them and then whisking them with some milk in a separate bowl. She smiled at him and said, "But I appreciate that. Once we come back from the school should we text Brad?"

Shaking his head Castle said, "He needs to see about Scarsi and Coupe. But what do you think about Bledsoe?"

"The same thing that you were," Beckett replied easily. She looked over at him and said, "He has to have a connection to Albany, more than the story he was putting together."

"You know until the second bomb I was almost tempted to consider him as the bomber there," Castle said after they'd made an omelet each in silence.

"I had thought that myself," Beckett said. When her husband glanced over at her she smiled and told him, "I do have moments where I think like you; briefly; but that happens."

Castle smiled and leaned over; since he could; and shared a brief kiss with her before he told her, "I can think like you too."

"Good," Beckett replied before they shared a second kiss gently before they parted. She wanted to speak again when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs and she smiled at her husband before they turned their heads to watch as their oldest, Mari and Eve came down the hall to them; Julia speaking once she met their gaze.

"We're ready to eat," the girl said with a smile.

"Which means they're hungry," Castle commented to his wife.

"I realized that, and that means we better hurry," Beckett told him with a smile. "Since my dad won't be too far behind with Eliza."

Looking at her friends; Mari smiling and nodding at her; Julia went over to her parents who were turned back to the stove and she asked her mother, "Are you mad?"

"No," Beckett said. "But haven't you talked to her before?" she asked, not really believing she was asking her daughter that.

"Yeah…" Julia said slowly before she sighed. "But not for very long. This was the longest I ever did. She talked about you Mommy."

"Last night?" Castle asked, not surprised when his wife froze next to him.

"No before," Julia replied. "She said that she would like to see you, but you don't let her."

"You better go set the table sweetie," Beckett said, relieved at the distraction of Eliza and her father coming down the stairs.

"Okay, I told her you probably wouldn't let her see you but she understood," Julia said simply, shrugging her shoulders. She went to get the forks and said to her parents; who were watching her with slightly surprised expressions on their faces. "Better now 'cause of the baby huh?"

Before either he or Beckett could reply to that Castle watched with her as their oldest left them to start setting the table. "Kate-" he started to say.

"Katie, if your mother ever comes to you I wish you would see her," Jim said.

Studying her father and seeing that he was serious; though looking doubtful still; Beckett said, "Did Eliza tell you about what she saw?"

"Your mother told her that she loved me," Jim began, clearing his throat after he'd spoken. "Very much."

Since she wasn't making an omelet then Beckett went to her father and wrapped her arms tightly around him saying, "I'll see what happens."

"Will Mommy?" Eliza asked her big sister as they were all watching them in the kitchen.

"I think so but who knows when Grandmama will come to see her," Julia replied. She then turned her attention back to the table and they were working together to set it before her mother was walking over with a pitcher of orange juice. "I forgot to ask how are you Mommy?"

"Good," Beckett said with a smile. "And your sister is fine too, she's already moved around a little," she added. "And kicked."

"I can't wait until my sister kicks," Eve commented.

"It'll be soon," Beckett assured her. "But wash up, it's ready." She went over to the kitchen and then helped her husband taking the plates over to the table, smiling when he squeezed her hand when they'd finished. When they were all sitting she wasn't surprised when the three girls talked together as they ate. She and the others watched them doing that and when they had finally finished she said, "Go and get your coats on, we need to go."

"We are walking right?" Julia asked her mother.

"We are," Beckett assured her with a smile. "Go."

"I'm really surprised it didn't go that badly last night," Castle commented as they went with all four girls to take their plates to the sink.

"Did you think I was going to have a party Daddy?" Julia asked.

Castle shook his head before the girls left them for the foyer and he looked at his wife, seeing that she was smiling. "What?" he asked her, slightly startled.

"I'm sure if Alexis was here she'd say that's what you'd be doing," Beckett said with a smirk.

"Probably," Castle said, nodding his head. He then leaned over and kissed her cheek before he focused his attention again on the sink to finish cleaning everything up.

"Alright," Beckett said as she walked to the entry. "I-"

"We saw," Julia said with a frown as she noticed her mother looking out the window. "I guess we can't walk."

"Not this morning," Beckett replied. She then looked at the girls and said, "Someone is going to need to go with my dad."

"It has to be me," Eve commented. "I'm in another school. And besides, you two are best friends."

"Yeah but we're not going to sit next to each other," Mari replied.

"I'm gonna run to my school," Eve said.

"I don't think so," Beckett said with a smile. "Your mom would be incredibly mad at me if you did and if you fell."

"More than likely me," Castle told his wife. He smiled at her and then said, "Like Lily would be mad at you," when his wife looked at him.

"Dad?" Beckett asked her father as he was coming into the room with them. "Can you take Eve to the school?"

"Of course," Jim replied with a smile for the girl.

"Thanks," Eve replied, smiling at him.

Once they were all ready they walked over to the garage and once there split up in the cars, saying goodbye to each other playfully before they went inside the vehicles.

* * *

"You'll be careful Mommy?" Julia was asking her mother as she was standing with them at the door to her classroom.

"Of course," Beckett assured her. "But have fun and pay attention."

"I wanted to give you the chance to say it for once," Castle said, smiling at her when she looked at him.

"I will Mommy," Julia said with a smile. She hugged her mother a second time and said, "Be careful."

"I will," Beckett replied, speaking reassuringly again. "We'll see you after school as soon as we can."

Nodding, Julia went inside the classroom before she hurriedly sat down at her desk, looking over at the side of the room. She waved her fingers slightly to Albert who was there, relieved when he soon faded away so she could concentrate on her class.

"Okay?" Castle asked his wife as he walked over to her.

"Yeah," Beckett told him with a smile. "Just… making sure she got to her desk alright."

"We better go," Castle said, looking around for a moment. "Or else we'll need to join her."

Beckett smiled again and then went with him and her father downstairs until they had reached the entry to the building and she said, "Are you heading home?" to her father.

"How did you know?" Jim asked. He then smiled and told her, "Not yet, I wanted to drive over to Montauk to one of the bookstores there. But I'll be back to pick up Eliza of course."

"We know," Beckett told her father, hugging him.

"We'll try to get to their dance class," Castle told his father in law as he shook his hand. "But we'll let you know how that works out," he replied.

"Alright, like the girls said be careful with this case," Jim said, nodding to them both before he left first.

"What are we doing when we get home?" Castle asked his wife.

"Come on," Beckett said, reaching out to him and taking his hand. They went into the snow that was still falling; though more lightly; and hurried to their car before he drove them back home. Stepping out into the garage she said with a smile, "What do you think?"

"About what?" Castle asked as he walked over to where she was standing, waiting for him.

"What we talked about earlier," Beckett reminded him.

"Well," Castle began as he reached for her hand to lead her inside the house. "Your dad isn't here so we don't need to resort to subterfuge," he finished.

Smiling Beckett squeezed his hand before she let him take her coat to send it on the bench and said, "I wasn't trying to make something up."

"Oh… your back hurts?" Castle asked in concern.

"It's alright," Beckett said, kissing him on the cheek. "I didn't want to tell you when we were talking about this earlier since I didn't want you to be worried."

"Then I guess I'll just have to help you out," Castle told his wife seriously. "Come on." He took her hand again but then paused as he looked down at the dogs that were sitting, looking up at them.

"Go on you guys," Beckett said, snapping her fingers and motioning to the family room. She wasn't sure what Max and Molly would do; as she hadn't taught them that yet; but was relieved when they followed the others. "Okay," she said as she turned to her husband.

Castle smiled at her before they walked to the stairs in the foyer, heading up to their room though they had to walk down the hall a little longer than the other staircase. When they'd gotten inside finally he said, "How far did you want to go?"

Looking at the time on the clock Beckett said, "I don't know."

"Then let me just get your back set and we'll see where we are," Castle said after thinking for a moment.

Beckett smiled and nodded before they walked more fully inside their room, closing the door behind them, and she began to undress as he left her. She sighed saying, "Even though I know we need to wait for Brad this feels weird."

"I'm just hoping he won't text while we're doing this," Castle said, coming out to her with her bottle of rose scented crème.

"I know," Beckett said, smiling briefly at her husband when he paused at the sight of her since her clothes were gone by then. "Hold on," she told him quickly as she reached out to him.

"Me too?" Castle asked.

"Yes," Beckett said firmly. "Hurry."

Nodding Castle handed her the bottle before he unbuttoned his shirt and discarded it before doing the same with the t-shirt underneath and then his jeans. Once his boxers were folded he said, "This is the neatest I've undressed for one of our trysts ever."

"Tryst?" Beckett asked with a smirk, sitting on the bed then.

"Maybe," Castle replied with a retuning smile before he joined her. He kissed her as soon as he was there and then said, "I want to hurry."

"That seems to be the theme now," Beckett replied urgently. She then turned away from him and shortly after felt him beginning to rub on her back very gently. Sighing in pleasure she said, "I'm sure you'll enjoy this."

"Did you see me at all?" Castle asked as he knew that she was talking about his arousal.

"Oh, I saw," Beckett answered, pausing in the middle as he found a knot. "And I hope you'll keep that." When he paused for a moment she looked over her shoulder at him and said, "I've decided, you're taking me as fast as you can after you're done." She shivered when her husband's hands shook over her skin as he was shuddering.

"How fast?" Castle asked her.

" _Tapaidh_ ," Beckett replied firmly. She heard her husband's slight groan but didn't say anything as she'd had told him simply to be quick.

Castle tried not to do that to his wife at that moment but finally he could feel that her back was relaxed, and she seemed to be fully as well too. He tried not to run to the bathroom to wash his hands, but he couldn't help jogging a little bit, not realizing that his wife was watching him as he went.

Breathing out a little heavily at first Beckett then turned around to face the fireplace, not wanting him to realize she hadn't minded what she'd seen. She bit at her lower lip a few times before her husband soon walked out to her and she said, "Are you-" before he cut her off with a kiss. She threw her arms around him and held onto him as tightly as possible before they were lying back on the bed.

As soon as Castle entered his wife they forgot about everything else but each other since Beckett helped him to make their quickie very satisfying. It didn't take much effort to do that and when they climaxed together they were a little speechless at the beginning before the room filled with the sound of their voices calling each other's name.

Sighing when her husband moved away from her once they were recovered Beckett said, "I hate you doing that."

"I know but not too long before I can stay with you," Castle said, his voice slightly frustrated as well. He turned onto his side and kissed her gently before he then said, "But for now I'll just have to double my efforts to make up for that."

Beckett smiled before she placed her hands on her stomach and she said, "I was going to say I might have to do that."

"Maybe," Castle said, watching her with a smile on his face. He reached down to her abdomen, rubbing his hand gently over her skin until he found where the baby was kicking. Before his wife could say anything, he leaned down to her and kissed around her stomach, where his hand had been at first before he moved around. When he stopped he said to the baby, "I really hope you don't mind this little one. Your mom and I can't help it; especially your mom."

"I was waiting for that," Beckett said wryly. She felt him place another kiss on her stomach before he pushed himself up and she was swift to reach for him, wrapping her arms around him. They kissed deeply and as they were fighting each other playfully with their tongues she caressed his hair, making sure she raked her nails gently over his scalp before they parted. "And thank you."

"How do you keep that suppressed," Castle asked her.

"I don't suppress I just have a better poker face than yours," Beckett told him with a smile before she sat up. She sighed and said, as he joined her, "I don't want to get up, but we have to."

"We could wait for Brad," Castle pointed out to her.

When she heard the hesitation in her husband's voice Beckett smiled and asked, "What do you have in mind?"

Castle was startled she'd figured that out; but just for a moment; before he smiled and said, "I'll show you. Though I'll protest us having to get up."

"So will I but now I'm really curious," Beckett told him. She kissed him before they got up and got redressed, doing so hurriedly as they were both still tempted to return to the bed. She needed to put her hair back into a ponytail; as she'd taken it out before they'd started; and once she was finished they walked together swiftly to the door before they ended up kissing and lingering there for a while.

"Alright," Castle said as he led his wife to the parlor eventually. "You said we could get a pool table?"

"I think we should re-do the room; we didn't with the others just the paint," Beckett replied. She kissed his cheek and said, "You have something else in mind."

"Not something else but to add to the pool table. A tank," Castle said simply. "And not just any tank."

"ATM?" Beckett asked. When he nodded eagerly she sighed and said, "They might want to put us on the show."

"I don't mind," Castle said. "Oh, you want to wait until the baby is born."

"I'd prefer it," Beckett answered.

"Then I hope you won't mind this; I want them to build us two tanks," Castle said hopefully.

"Where would you want the second one?" Beckett asked with a slight smile as that didn't really surprise her.

"In the library but that one can be freshwater," Castle said.

"So saltwater here?" Beckett asked. When her husband nodded she sighed and said, "Alright but why don't we plan out the room first before we get the tank… or tanks?"

"And the baby comes," Castle added. When she nodded he couldn't help embracing her tightly before he told her, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Beckett said with a soft laugh. "Though if they can make it sophisticated I wouldn't mind."

"Alright," Castle said. "Think we can beg them to let us pick out our fish?"

"We'll see," Beckett said gently though she was smiling at the enthusiasm in his voice. She gently brushed her lips to his before she said, "I love you."

"I love you too," Castle replied before they were kissing again and deeper. He enjoyed that immensely but finally they parted, and he sighed saying, "I'm getting worried now."

"So am I," Beckett said, nodding her head. "Should you text him?"

"I can but I get the feeling he's still with the two and if they see that they'll be angry… so much so we're stuck here," Castle said.

Beckett smiled briefly; as she knew he was referencing them wanting to wrap up the case; before she said, "Then let's get something to drink."

Nodding his head Castle followed her over to the kitchen where he hurried to prepare some tea before he said, "Besides that I should tell you that I'm remembering the other day."

"Other day?" Beckett asked him in slight confusion.

"I mean the next day after the one we've been recalling," Castle told her.

"The whole day?" Beckett asked.

"No just the beginning," Castle said quickly. "That morning."

"I've thought about that too," Beckett said with a nod of agreement. "It was nice."

"It was," Castle replied with a quick nod. He turned to the microwave and grabbed their mugs so he could start the tea steeping in the water. He sat with her at the island then and said, "That was an interesting morning."

"It was," Beckett said with a slight smile. "At least Julia didn't seem to care your hand was very obviously on my thigh."

"She wasn't looking at that," Castle told her quickly. When his wife looked at him questioningly he said, "I glanced at her when I saw her, she was looking at you. To be honest I think she was trying to make sure that you were alright."

"She was looking out for me even then," Beckett said. She kissed her husband before taking a sip of her tea, unable to help recalling that morning herself since she had already remembered the day before it. Glancing at Castle though she knew he was doing the same and she smiled as she set down her mug, both silent with their memories.

* * *

 _"Morning," Castle said, sitting up and looking over at his girlfriend who was coming out of the bathroom. "You're not tired?"_

 _"Are you?" Beckett replied easily._

 _"Oh I'm… a little sore here and there but I'm good," Castle replied. "Never realized you prefer me on top."_

 _"I don't think you bothered to think that," Beckett said. "And sorry about my redundancy but there you have it."_

 _"Great," Castle said before he held his hand out to her. When she took it he gently tugged her onto his lap and wrapped his arms around her telling her, "I did enjoy last night."_

 _"Me too but we were a little over eager," Beckett said. She smiled as he looked at her in confusion and said, "It's almost nine."_

 _"I need to get up?" Castle asked as he was reaching for his watch he'd taken off the night before._

 _"And we need to get dressed," Beckett told him. "So get up and we can get her up for breakfast."_

 _"Wait," Castle said quickly as he held onto her to keep her where she was. He pulled her a little closer and then kissed her as deeply as he could. When she responded to him there was a part of him that wanted to tell her; when they finished; to let Julia sleep for a little while longer but finally he stopped and said, "You better go because I'm not going to be able to stop now."_

 _Beckett pressed her lips to his temple but soon after pulled away from him to get up and get dressed. She wasn't surprised when Castle followed her, and they dressed quickly together before they stepped out to the hall between their rooms where he stopped her from continuing to her daughter's room, making her turn to him as he smiled at her and then told her what was on his mind._

 _"Sorry," Castle said as he took her hand and pulled her back to her room. Once they were there he sat on the side of the bed and brought her onto his lap. Before she could say anything, he was kissing her passionately and he was relieved when she responded quickly. He clutched at her tightly before his hand slid down on her, clutching at her thigh a little high up until they parted. He smiled at her and then moved to her neck, kissing along it before he paused and glanced to the doorway. "Hey, good morning Julia," he said to the little girl who was standing there and looking at her mother a little sleepily._

 _"Sweetie," Beckett said, pulling away from her boyfriend quickly. "Good morning."_

 _"Morning," Julia said as she smiled a little. "Mommy I'm hungry."_

 _"We're going to be getting breakfast right now," Beckett said, standing up finally. "But you need to get ready before you eat," she added._

 _"Kay," Julia said, giggling slightly as Castle ruffled her hair gently. She waved at him by bending her fingers on her right hand a few times and then went with her mother over to her room. "Are you happy Mommy?" she asked her mother._

 _"I am," Beckett said, not surprised her daughter was asking that. She leaned over and gently kissed her forehead after setting her daughter on her bed before she said, "Did you sleep alright?"_

 _"Yeah but I'm excited Mommy," Julia said eagerly. She beamed at her mother and told her, "I wanna see Alexis."_

 _"You will but after we eat," Beckett said, going to get her daughter's brush. She paused as her daughter turned around and said, "Why don't we do this outside? That way Castle isn't alone." She smiled when Julia nodded rapidly and she picked her up, carrying her out into the living room._

 _"Hey, still got that crazy hair," Castle commented when he saw the two walking out._

 _"I'm brushing it now," Beckett replied. "How's it coming along?"_

 _"Some omelets," Castle replied as he was cooking at the stove, looking at them. "They'll be-"_

 _Looking over at the door when there was a knock on it Beckett wrapped her arm around her daughter; as she'd turned to her; and she said, "I don't know who that is sweetie but let me go check okay?"_

 _Julia nodded and then hurried to grab her Stitch doll she'd brought out with her tightly while she watched her mother opening the door. "Alexis!" she said happily when she saw her in the doorway._

 _"What're you doing here?" Castle asked with a smile as he was standing behind his girlfriend. He then glanced at Beckett and said, "You asked her here?"_

 _"Yes," Beckett said simply as she needed to get out of the way of her daughter so she could hug the young woman, both watching the two with smiles on their faces._

 _"I'm glad that you came," Julia said eagerly as she was in Alexis' arms. "Are you gonna have breakfast with us?"_

 _"I am," the young woman said. She set her back down and told her, "Speaking of that do you need my help?"_

 _"You can set the table with Julia if you'd like," Beckett told her as her daughter came to her and hugged her._

 _"Let me wash up," Alexis replied, setting her bag down on the chair there in the entry._

 _"I thought you'd want to see her and I knew that Julia would too," Beckett told her boyfriend when they were alone._

 _"I did," Castle replied. He then smiled and told her, "Thank you."_

 _"You're welcome, you might want to start her omelet," Beckett said. She followed him over to the kitchen, getting the forks Alexis would need as well as napkins. She listened with Castle as their daughters were talking together about the day before and she said softly, "We should do this more often."_

 _"I know," Castle said before he spoke more loudly. "Alexis? Would you mind doing this occasionally?"_

 _"Coming over for breakfast?" his daughter asked. When her father nodded Alexis smiled and said, "That would be nice; just let me know when I can come."_

 _"I will," Beckett promised._

 _"Okay, it's ready so let's eat before we lose our chance to go out to play," Castle said, finishing the last omelet and taking it to the table. "You did a great job," he told Julia who was looking up at him, next to him._

 _Giggling softly as he ruffled her hair Julia hugged him rapidly before almost bounding over to her mother. "Are you gonna sit Mommy?" she asked her._

 _"I am, you should too," Beckett told her before she took her hand and they walked over to the table._

 _"I'm wondering what your plans are exactly," Alexis asked her father and Beckett once they'd been eating for a bit. "Your text just mentioned we're going to the park."_

 _"She wants to go to the carousel," Beckett answered first since she'd been the one to send the text. "So we're going there first and after the playground."_

 _"Anything else?" Alexis asked._

 _"Walking through," Castle picked up next. "We want her to see the leaves changing color."_

 _"Sounds great," Alexis said. "She won't get bored?" she then asked Beckett._

 _"We'll take some things for her," she answered with a smile, hoping the young woman wouldn't ask what exactly._

 _"I can't wait to go," Alexis said with a smile, looking at Julia who was watching them as she ate._

 _Once they'd finished the little girl helped her mother clean up in clearing her things from the table. Julia watched as the others finished cleaning everything from breakfast, trying not to ask if they could go yet though it made her shift from foot to foot as she kept from doing so. Finally her mother turned to her, walking up to her, and she was about to ask when her mother held out her hand and made her stop so she could speak._

 _"We can go but you need to put on your coat first," Beckett said._

 _"Oh… kay," Julia said, going over quickly to the entry and waiting for her mother to join her. "Oh Mommy are you excited?"_

 _"I am but you should be a little more than the rest of us," Beckett told her as she grabbed her daughter's jacket from the closet. She smiled at her and said, "We can't really play on the playground."_

 _"Oh," Julia said slowly as she realized that._

 _"You can," Castle said quickly. "But if you want I'll go with you."_

 _"I think I'll have to say that I will go with her," Alexis said. "You two are a little too tall."_

 _"And you're not?" Castle asked his daughter with a slight smirk._

 _"Let her see if she wants us to go with her," Beckett said, trying not to laugh at the two._

 _"Can you push me on the swings?" Julia asked Castle. When he nodded she said, "I wanna sit on your lap on the swing Mommy."_

 _"That'll be nice," Beckett told her with a smile._

 _"And me?" Alexis asked when the little girl turned to her. She was a little startled when Julia wrapped her arms around her waist but smiled at her father and Beckett before she hugged her back with one arm. "Do you want me to play with you?" she asked._

 _"If you fit," Julia replied. She was startled when the others all started to laugh, and she asked, "What did I say?"_

 _"Nothing sweetie," Beckett said first._

 _"I'll play with you, I just might not be able to go down all the slides," Alexis then said. When the little girl nodded she and her father put on their coats and they left together, pausing for a moment to let Beckett lock the apartment behind them._

 _"Mommy?" Julia asked as they were going down to the lobby in the elevator._

 _"Yes sweetie?" Beckett replied, running her hand over the back of her head._

 _"How come you didn't wear your red one?" Julia said as she touched her mother's grey coat._

 _"Did you want me to?" Beckett asked her with a smile. When her daughter nodded; as the elevator stopped at the lobby; she said, "I-"_

 _"It won't take us that long," Alexis said first. She smiled when both her father and his girlfriend looked at her in surprise before she pressed the button for Beckett's floor._

 _Beckett glanced at Alexis while they were ascending but the young woman just looked at the wall. When they got to her floor she went by herself to her apartment where she changed into her red coat and jogged back. "I'm surprised at you sweetie, this made us take a little longer to go," she told her daughter as she picked her up._

 _"That's kay, I like that one," Julia replied. She then smiled widely and whispered to her, "So does Castle."_

 _Glancing at her boyfriend Beckett saw he was smiling at her, letting her know he'd heard, before she said, "Alright next time tell me before we leave."_

 _Julia kissed her mother's cheek before they were walking through the lobby and were getting into a taxi. She watched them go through the city streets, trying to see signs that they were closer to Central Park. Finally, she spotted the trees and squealed a little before they stopped, and she remained in her mother's arms as Beckett stepped out of the cab onto the sidewalk outside of it, looking around at the leaves of the trees near them while they waited for Castle to pay for the ride._

 _"We're going to the carousel first sweetie," Beckett told her daughter as they walked down the path they were near into the park._

 _"And luckily we're not too far from it," Castle commented, walking next to her._

 _"Mommy I wanna go down," Julia told her mother. When Beckett stopped and set her down as she'd asked she smiled at her mother and rushed over to Alexis before they continued._

 _Castle, glancing at his girlfriend, smiled at her though he wanted to take her hand badly. Since he couldn't he consoled himself with standing as close to her as he could before he said, "Going to ride with her?"_

 _"Yes, but I'm not going on a horse," Beckett replied wryly. She heard her daughter crying out and smiled as Julia was pointing at the familiar roof of the carousel before she glanced at Castle._

 _"I'll grab the tickets," he told her quickly._

 _"Oh, Mommy which one can I go to?" Julia asked as she looked at the horses going around at that moment._

 _"Whichever one you want," Beckett told her, squeezing her hand gently. When Castle returned to them the carousel stopped going around and they all got on together. She went after her daughter as Julia was running in between the horses, glad when she finally stopped. "This one?" she asked her. When the little girl nodded she smiled and then helped her up onto the one with blue on its decorations. She looked at Castle as he walked up to them and said, "You're not going on a horse?" as Alexis got on the one next to Julia's._

 _"I think I'll pass," Castle replied, standing in between the two girls. He smiled at Julia as she waved a little shyly at him and watched her while the carousel began to go around. He couldn't help but continue to smile as he watched the absolute joy on the little girl's face and wanted to ask his girlfriend if they couldn't at least rent a pony for her to ride while they were there when Beckett spoke to her daughter._

 _"I don't think pulling the reins is a good idea," she told Julia._

 _"Why?" the little girl asked in obvious confusion._

 _"That means to make it stop," Castle couldn't help answer._

 _"Oh," Julia said before she giggled. "Sorry horsie," she told hers, patting its head. "Mommy?" she asked._

 _"Yes sweetie," Beckett replied._

 _"Why don't you go on too?" Julia asked her._

 _"I prefer to stay with you," Beckett told her. She wasn't surprised when her daughter frowned deeply, and she cupped her cheek saying, "I want to," firmly._

 _Julia wrinkled her nose before looking in front of them until it stopped going around and she sighed. She wanted to ask her mother and Castle if they could go again but she already knew her mother would say no. So she let Castle take her before they walked away from the carousel and she was going to ask what they were going to be doing next when she looked down the path ahead of them. "Grandpapa!" she cried out in joy when she saw him and then took off away from her mother._

 _"They found each other," Castle commented as they neared Beckett's father and his mother._

 _"We met at the entrance to the park," Martha said to her son. "Good morning Kate."_

 _"Morning," Beckett said with a smile as she watched Julia come over from her father to Martha._

 _"Hello kiddo," the woman said to Julia._

 _"Hi, Alexis came over to eat," the little girl said eagerly._

 _"I know, she told me she was going to," Martha replied as she picked her up. Settling Julia on her hip she said, "Did you have a nice time with your mother and Richard yesterday?"_

 _"Yep," Julia said before she giggled happily. "And we were on the horsies and now we're gonna…"_

 _At the little girl's confused expression Castle said, "We'll walk right now; make our way around towards the playground."_

 _"It's not that far," Beckett said._

 _"We'll take the long way around," Castle commented, watching her to see if she'd protest that idea._

 _"Don't tell her that," Beckett told him simply. They started to walk together down the path, but she and her boyfriend took the long way around they both knew. She watched her daughter with a smile as she was obviously extremely awed by the changing colors of the leaves. She tried not to frown as she thought of Julia's birth mother, keeping her inside the brownstone and away from those trees. Shaking herself of her thoughts as she felt Castle touching her arm she smiled at him and said, "I'm glad to be able to take her out for this."_

 _"It was definitely one of my most favorite times of year to be in the park," Castle said with a slight smile at her._

 _"One of them?" Beckett asked._

 _"Winter… spring… summer," Castle said, playfully waving his hand before she pushed him aside slightly. "No, I enjoy coming here all the time."_

 _"I guessed," Beckett said with a smile. She then reached over, squeezing his hand before she stepped ahead of him as they'd reached the playground._

 _Watching her Castle smiled briefly, and he stopped and glanced around them quickly before he hurried after her. He promised himself, as they stood with their parents to watch their daughters climbing up the ladder to the top of the jungle gym, that they would have a chance to do better that night when they could be alone together again._


	21. Like The Truth's Been Told (Part 2)

"You were right," Beckett said to her husband. When he glanced at her she smiled and said, "About that night we were together… a number of times."

"A larger number of times," Castle said before he became thoughtful. "Another six?"

Shaking her head Beckett reminded him, "Seven, we were twice the second time."

"Do you remember the positions?" Castle asked her.

Beckett laughed softly and said, "No, I'm not going to try either."

"Do you want to-" Castle started to say.

"No, we need to be ready for Brad to call us," Beckett interrupted him. She smiled when he sighed and then got off the chair before telling him, "Come on," not surprised when he immediately followed her to the sink so they could take their mugs and clean them quickly.

"We could be quick again," Castle told her.

Beckett sighed and pet Macca who'd nuzzled her hand and told him, "I realize that, but I should tell you something."

"You're getting tired?" Castle asked her.

"You too?" Beckett responded with a question.

"Okay so we're taking a break tonight," Castle said.

"Disappointed?" Beckett asked him. She was surprised when he grabbed for her and she allowed him to pull her close before she said, "Neither am I."

"You need more rest," Castle said. "Not trying to baby you; just trying to help."

Beckett nodded and then leaned into him before they shared a gentle kiss. When they'd pulled away from one another she said, "What should we do now?"

"Well we could write but I'm sure you don't want to since we'd have to stop," Castle said.

"Exactly," Beckett said. "Though I think we could use the chance to go through my last pictures."

"Sure, but you know how I feel about doing that," Castle said as he went with her over to the office.

"You know what I want in my pictures Rick," Beckett said simply as she sat down on the couch. She smiled as he went to get her printed pictures and brought the box to her. "We're getting down on these and since I'm near the point where I'm not going to walk around too much that will help us out."

"You didn't stay inside at the end of your last pregnancy," Castle was quick to point out. He then smiled and said, "But yeah I remember you got more… lethargic."

"That was fun," Beckett said with a sigh, taking out some of the photos that were inside the box. She rubbed carefully at her stomach and told her husband, "I don't mind the reason why I'm like that, just being like that."

Castle nodded in understanding and he leaned over, kissing her cheek before he settled back with her pictures. "Wait," he said as he realized something. "I forgot the boxes," he told his wife when she looked at him.

"I did too," Beckett replied. She glanced with him over at the doorway where the dogs were walking in and she laughed saying, "Now I'm wondering if you were right."  
"I don't think they'd keep their toys separate," Castle said as he handed his wife two smaller boxes. He then went over to Max and JoJo and said, "Easy you two, you can't walk all the way around the house doing that," as he got the stuffed squirrel away from them since it was in both their mouths. "You can't even tell which one is theirs."

"It doesn't matter," Beckett told him. "Just give it back to them."

"Okay, now I should go wash my hands," Castle said, taking the squirrel out into the hallway.

Beckett smiled at her husband before he left, and she turned her attention to the photos before she started to look through them carefully. She separated which ones she wanted to put into a book they would publish and the other for placing into a photo album. Most of them were from their trip to the Adirondacks and after it and she was trying to get through them all to see how many books she would need to order.

"Okay," Castle said as he walked back into the room. "How's it going?" he asked as he saw she was looking at one picture.

"This one will go on the outside of the one for the Adirondacks," Beckett told her husband as she turned the picture towards him.

Taking it Castle smiled at the sight of them with their daughters by the lake and he said, "We have to take this trip again."

"We said we would," Beckett replied. When her husband started to speak she told him, "We'll take the baby love."

"Great," Castle said, sitting down with her before he then started to look through the pictures with her. "But the problem is going to be the fact the baby isn't going to be able to swim."

"Well we'll go in the fall again right?" Beckett asked him. When he nodded she smiled and said, "Then the baby can dip her feet in." She studied him and then asked, "What?"

"I really wish we could call her by name," Castle said.

"We will soon," Beckett replied. She felt the baby kicking then and said with a slight smile, "She's agreeing."

"I guess she is," Castle said with a smile as he reached over to feel. He was a little surprised when she handed him the box and he asked, "Enough for today?"

"I need to walk," Beckett answered.

Castle did his best to set aside the boxes calmly before he stood and went to her, rubbing her lower back gently. "Do you want to go outside?" he asked.

"The snow-" Beckett began.

"It stopped, I looked outside while I was going to wash my hands," Castle explained.

"No, I'll stay inside," Beckett replied. "But I should still walk."

Castle nodded and then followed her out to the hallway before they began to walk back and forth. He smiled suddenly and said, "Remember that night at the loft?" When she looked at him he said quickly, "Not later but before Julia went to bed."

"I do," Beckett said with a smile. "You mean right after we finished dinner?" When her husband nodded, and she smiled a little wider before she took his hand and squeezed it tightly as she was recalling, unable to help it as it was a great memory of when they were starting to become a family together.

* * *

 _Leaning against the table Julia said to her grandfather, "I wish you didn't have to go Grandpapa."_

 _"I don't need to yet," Jim told her reassuringly. He tried to take her so he could place her on his lap, but she wouldn't go with him. "What's wrong?" he asked her with a slight smile._

 _"I wanna dance," Julia said exuberantly before she started to hop over to the clear space by the front door._

 _"Is she okay doing that?" Castle asked._

 _"It's not my loft," Beckett said with a smile. "Will she be?"_

 _"Oh sure, Alexis never slipped," Castle said. "So she and Julia won't be doing that today either," he commented as they watched his daughter join hers._

 _"I hope she won't get sick Kate," Martha said as she came near them to pour some more wine._

 _"You're right," Beckett said, drying off her hands as her boyfriend was ushering her over. "Julia," she said, going over to them. "Sorry you two," she said as the two stopped abruptly. "But she might get sick if you do that for much longer."_

 _"Your mom's right," Alexis said. "Are we going to play any games?" she asked Beckett._

 _"We are," Castle called out as he was drying his hands himself; having finished._

 _"Then why don't we see what you brought," Alexis told Julia before she took her over to the door where the bags she and her mother had brought were._

 _"And where are we going to play these games?" Martha asked her son._

 _"We can play at the coffee table," Castle told his girlfriend._

 _"I think it'll be better if we go to the table," Beckett said. "Since these aren't two player games," she added._

 _"Okay, then we better go," Castle replied before he glanced over at the two still at the door. "How many games did you bring?" he said._

 _"Not that many… I guess they're trying to make sure they play the right game," Beckett said with a smile. "Though you know if you take too long we won't have that much time to play."_

 _"We found it," Alexis said with a smile. "Julia couldn't decide."_

 _"No, Alexis didn't," the little girl replied with a giggle._

 _"Well we decided now," Alexis said. "Let's play 'cause your mom's right, we need to get started."_

 _Gathering around at the table Castle took the game Chutes and Ladders that his daughter was holding, and he began to set it up with Beckett's help._

 _While they were playing Martha asked Julia, "What will you be learning on Monday Julia?"_

 _Shrugging the little girl then looked at her mother and said, "Did my teacher say?"_

 _"No, likely simple things," Beckett said. "Any reason why you wanted to know?" she then asked Martha._

 _"I'm curious how her school is going," Castle's mother replied with a smile. "You are enjoying it right Julia?"_

 _"Yeah, I like seeing my friends," the little girl replied after she had taken her turn. She smiled at her mother and said, "And getting to play. And dance."_

 _"I think that should be reassuring enough for you," Castle told his mother with a smile._

 _"It is," Martha said. "This far along into the year you want to be certain of course," she directed to Beckett._

 _With a nod she said, "It's not too far in but long enough for her to know what it's going to be like."_

 _"Do I have to go all the time Mommy?" Julia asked then._

 _"No," Beckett said with a smile. "Remember I told you about your holidays, but you'll have one in a couple months."_

 _"I know," Julia said. She then looked around at everyone and said shyly, "I wanna go like today."_

 _"We can do that on the weekends," Castle told her with a smile. "But you don't want to just go to the park, right?"_

 _"No," Julia said with a little giggle. "Where can we go?"_

 _"Let's wait until we decide to go out again to plan anything," Beckett said, putting her hand on her boyfriend's arm. "We're not even done with this weekend."_

 _"Dad loves to plan," Alexis said. "How do you think he gets all his surprises?"_

 _"Are you gonna give one to Mommy?" Julia asked then eagerly._

 _"I'll see," Castle replied, smiling at his girlfriend. "And I've just won so I guess we'll need to move on to our next choice."_

 _"Ours Dad," Alexis told him as Beckett got up to help him with putting the game away. "And Julia said she wants to play the game with the tiles."_

 _"Scrabble?" Castle asked. When Alexis nodded he said, "She knows that she can't really play right?"_

 _"She does," the young woman replied. "She just wants to see it again."_

 _Castle looked at Beckett and when she nodded he got up to get the game. He then squeezed her shoulder and left. He heard Julia giggle and looked over at the table, smiling as he saw his girlfriend was tickling her daughter. Shaking himself as he remembered they were waiting for him he continued to his office where he searched for his Scrabble game._

 _"Okay?" Beckett said as she walked over to where he was._

 _"Yeah, just glad to see she's having so much fun," Castle said as he stood up. He was startled when she took the game from him and set it on his desk before he started to say, "They-"_

 _"They're distracted," Beckett said simply before she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. She kept it short before she explained better telling him, "Alexis is teaching her a hand clapping game."_

 _"Oh…" Castle said before he looked over to the table and saw she was right. He smiled and said, "Okay, I have the game so we should ask if they still want to play." He watched his girlfriend smile at him before she turned, and he was quick to follow her. As he watched them at the table he was happy to see the smile on Julia's face and he hoped they would have nights like that one again._

* * *

Stepping into the house then Jim heard some laughter and looked down the hall past the entry where he saw his daughter and son in law were walking down it together.

"Hey Dad," Beckett said as she noticed him first.

"Find anything?" Castle asked as he and his wife walked over to where he was standing waiting for them.

"A few books," Jim said, holding up the cloth bag he'd taken with him in case he bought anything.

"Mind if I see them?" Castle asked slowly.

"Katie warned me you might say that," Jim replied with a smile before he handed the two books in there to his son in law.

"Sorry, I can't help it," Castle replied. He then looked over the tomes and smiled before he said, "You made some really good choices."

"Thank you," Jim said before something came to him and he looked at his daughter; who was looking at the books herself then. "Are you okay? You're walking around?"

"I needed to," Beckett answered, handing the books back to him.

"And you're still here," Jim added.

"We haven't heard from Brad," Castle said. "Still."

"Is that… usual?" Jim said. "Nothing at all for the case?"

"Obviously not," Beckett commented. She looked at her husband and said with a sigh, "We should just go."

"I know," Castle said. He glanced at Jim and said, "We might be late to their class."

"That's alright," Beckett's father said quickly and reassuringly. "They know you're still on a case."

Embracing her father quickly Beckett went after her husband over to the entry and they were just grabbing their coats when his phone rang. "Finally," she said.

"I know," Castle said, hurriedly grabbing his phone. He frowned and said, "That is not Brad; it's someone from the station."

Beckett was startled to hear that, and she watched as he answered it, placing it on speaker while she pressed closer to him to talk with whoever it was too.

"Castle, Beckett?" Hutchinson said.

"We're here," the two said together.

"You need to come out to South Beach Road," the officer told them.

"Why?" Beckett asked first.

"He was supposed to be out with Agents Scarsi and Coupe, going to the ME," Hutchinson explained. "That was three hours ago."

"Have you searched for his cruiser?" Castle asked.

"We located it just now, I'm out on the road and someone knocked him off it," Hutchinson replied. "Get out here, we need you both here."

When the other end disconnected suddenly Castle said, "She didn't say he was there."

"But if he isn't?" Beckett asked.

"You two should go," Jim said, having gone over when he heard the phone ringing.

"Yeah… oh god, Lily," Beckett said to her husband.

"Let's see what happened," Castle said though he wasn't surprised at her distress for her friend. He and Beckett said goodbye to her father before they hurried out into the garage. He drove them to the road which he needed to use his GPS to find though he knew they were at the right street as there were several cruisers around the side of the road at one point.

"Great," Hutchinson said as she walked over to the two at a jog. "We just found Coupe, he was down the road in the overgrowth and he said he was driving with the Chief."

"Where is he?" Castle worriedly. "And I mean Brad; not Coupe."

"We can't find him," Hutchinson said with a heavy sigh. "Everyone else is looking out for him."

"Hutchinson," Wade yelled over to her as he walked back up the slight incline onto the road. "Found Chief's gun."

"Where?" Beckett asked.

"About fifty feet away in that clump of grass," Wade answered before he watched with surprise as Beckett smelled at the gun inside the evidence bag he'd had with him.

"Recently fired," Beckett said before she shared a look with her husband after having given the bag back to the officer.

"Where's Scarsi?" Castle and Beckett asked at the same time.

Hutchinson looked at Wade and said, "Call Bernier, he's coming with me. We contacted Scarsi when we were first trying to find the chief," she told the two after the officer had left them. "And he said he was at his hotel, sick from some bad food last night."

"Where's he staying?" Castle asked, getting ready to hurry over to the car.

"The Grand," Hutchinson replied before she turned to run to her squad car as Bernier ran over to the road.

"I thought it was going to be the other hotel," Castle told his wife as they hurried the best they could to the car without her running.

"Me too, but do you think…?" Beckett asked him.

Shaking his head Castle replied, "I don't want to even think about it. I just want to find Brad."

By then they'd reached the car and Beckett asked, "Do you want to stay here to look for him?"

"No," Castle said, looking back to his friend's squad car. "He'd want us to keep looking into the case and they'll look for him still." He and Beckett got inside the car and he drove after Hutchinson and Bernier before they reached the hotel on the western outskirts of the town. They got out as soon as he had parked, and he watched with his wife as the two officers went over to the door of the room they'd found out Scarsi was staying in. He watched a little anxiously, unsure of what they'd find as Hutchinson knocked on the door and they all waited to see if the agent would answer.

"He's there," Beckett said when the agent came to the door, his normally impeccable suit a little rumpled. They couldn't hear what he was telling the officers but since he was looking at his watch a few times she assumed he had overslept. When he went back into his room and closed the door she frowned and said, "What does that mean?"

"No clue," Castle said, unable to help his voice sounding anxious as the officers walked back to them.

"He's been here all night," Bernier said first. "He was sick last night like Coupe told us, so he didn't go to the ME."

"Are we sure they even made it that far?" Beckett asked.

"We called Thayer to check that and he said they were there and he told them that McWilliams was shot," Hutchinson replied.

"Have you talked to Coupe?" Castle asked.

"We did, and he said Brad remembered someone who was in Albany and they were going out when they were hit," Hutchinson said. "I talked to the EMT looking at him and he's got some abrasions and contusions that are consistent with the shape the car was in. I thought the same when the chief was gone but not him."

"Okay, you should get the security camera footage," Beckett said before she looked around.

"For Scarsi?" Castle asked her.

"Coupe's room too," Beckett replied. "I'm not trusting either of them."

"Alright-" Bernier started to say before a radio crackled to life and dispatch on the other called to him and Hutchinson, making them all rush to his squad car.

"Officer Bernier," the woman said on the other end.

"Go ahead," the officer replied.

"The chief is being brought into the station, he was kidnapped," dispatched replied, her tone of voice urgent

"We'll be in," Bernier replied.

Without a word Castle and Beckett went to their car while Hutchinson went over to the lobby and Bernier went to Scarsi's room. Before they could get in though Beckett stopped her husband and then called out to Bernier.

"Did Lily know he was missing?" she said when he turned to her.

Hesitating the officer finally nodded and said, "We thought he might have gone home before we found the car. We called her first."

Nodding Beckett got into the car and once her husband was with her and they were driving towards the station she said, "She's there."

"I thought that when you asked Bernier," Castle said, trying not to speed as he made his way through the streets. When he parked behind the building he wasn't surprised when his wife went out first and he did his best to follow her inside without outright running.

"Is she here?" Beckett called to Hall once she was inside.

"In his office," the officer replied.

"Kate! Brad-" Lily said as she stood up from in front of her husband's desk.

"He's been found," Beckett assured her quickly, grabbing her by the arms. "Someone's bringing him back right now." Before her friend could reply they heard some of the officers in the bullpen calling out Brad's name and they turned to see him stepping inside from the lobby.

"Brad!" Lily nearly screamed when she spotted her husband. She went to the doorway and threw her arms around him, sobbing heavily almost instantly as he held her tightly to him.

Looking at his wife and seeing her eyes were tearing up Castle placed his hand on her back before he tapped out a message in Morse code on her back, _Should we go?_

Shaking her head slightly Beckett looked back to the couple as they were parting; not surprised when Brad led Lily over to the chair she'd been sitting on before.

"What are you doing here Lils?" he asked his wife in concern.

"They called and thought you were with me," Lily said tearfully though she'd managed to stop crying. "You need to get those taken care of," she told him as she had spotted the cuts on his face and hands.

"I'll be fine," Brad said before he saw something out of the corner of his eye. "Thanks," he told Lynne; the newest officer; as she was holding out a first aid kit to him.

"I'll take care of that," Castle said quickly, hurrying over.

"Hey, thanks for staying with her," Brad said, realizing he'd forgotten to say hello to them.

"We actually just got here," Beckett told him, stepping closer to them.

"Hutchinson called us about a half hour ago," Castle began. "And told us that you were missing but they'd found your car."

Nodding Brad said, "I guess I'll need to give a statement… wait, what about Coupe?"

"He was being treated," Beckett said. "He said your car got hit but that was about it. And there was the thought that Scarsi was behind this."

"No, when we went to get him in his room he was in the bathroom; Coupe had his extra key," Brad told them as he sat in the chair next to his wife's. "Ouch," he said, glaring at Castle.

"It's going to hurt bro," he replied easily since it wasn't the first time he'd had to do that for his friend.

"He wasn't going to move," Beckett directed to the chief.

"Not unless he was faking it well enough to actually throw up a substance," Brad said, making a face. "Or looking green enough to be a Martian. Damn it Rick," he then said angrily as his friend was wrapping his hand in some bandaging.

"Easy Brad," Lily said gently, taking his hand and squeezing what wasn't hurt. When she saw he'd calmed down she told him, "Keep going," trying not to hold his hand too tightly to cause him pain as he then did so.

"We were close to Logan Avenue when we got hit," Brad began.

"Logan?" Castle and Beckett said at the same time.

"Yeah, that's where you found… that's not where you found my car," the chief said as he looked between the two.

"South Beach," Castle said as he threw away what he'd used to patch his friend up.

"They moved my car," Brad stated before he groaned.

"Keep going," Beckett suggested to him.

Sighing Brad said, "They struck me on my side on the bumper, got us in a tailspin."

"Were your tires squealing?" Castle asked.

"They were," Brad replied.

"No one seemed to notice," Beckett explained as the chief looked confused.

"It looked like it was a fender bender," Beckett explained. She then became thoughtful and said, "And that was the purpose."

"Are you trying to figure out why?" Brad asked as he looked at her.

"Look," Beckett began. "You were harmed but Coupe was found near the car."

"He wasn't unconscious? Because I sure as hell was before I came to," Brad told her.

"We didn't really get much information, they were already trying to find you," Castle explained.

"We spun around but like I just said I was out," Brad continued. "When I came to I found I was… in a basement, blindfolded."

"What let you know it was a basement?" Beckett asked him.

"Cars," Brad replied. "But light traffic so I wasn't in an apartment building's basement; residential."

"Didn't you get out?" Castle said slowly.

"I did, I was left untied so I knew right off the bat that I was supposed to," Brad replied. "Didn't take me very long to get the blindfold off and get out and when I was outside I was at a house on Alabaster."

"Blue house with cranberry trim?" Castle asked. When his friend nodded he said, "I know that place and it's not abandoned."

"Do you know who lives there?" Brad asked them.

"The Riggenbachs," Beckett said. "They have a son who was in Julia's class in third grade." She paused and then said, "They're still out for the winter, aren't they?"

"They are," Castle said. "Where did you get out of the basement?"

"In the house," Brad replied. "And I realize they were out as I saw the furniture was covered in the family room. But the kitchen was recently used; there were some maps on the table."

"That's it?" Castle and Beckett asked at the same time when he stopped there.

"That's it," Brad replied.

"Are you all thinking that was a set up?" Lily asked. She smiled briefly when they looked at her; obviously startled; and she said, "I've been listening," before looking at her husband pointedly.

"That's the most likely scenario," Brad said. "But I don't know what it is about that house that would make me think it was… whoever I'm supposed to think it is."

"Sir?" Lynne asked, having remained there in the doorway. When the chief looked at her she said, "I can look into the family."

Brad nodded and then watched as the woman left before he said, "I don't think there'll be anything; no idea who the Riggenbachs are."

"That's likely the point," Lily said slowly.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "No, he means there's no connection to Albany."

"Oh," Lily said. "What are their names?" she said suddenly.

"Maurice and Ophelia," Beckett said when her husband looked at her.

"What about their son?" Lily asked, not surprised the three were looking at her.  
"Philippe," Beckett said after taking a moment to recall the name.

"We do know them," Lily said. "Or I knew her when she used to be Ophelia Shim," she said. "We went to culinary school together and the last I heard she had a son with a French name, but I lost track of her."

"You mean culinary school in DC," Brad told his wife. When she nodded he said, "That makes no sense."

"No," Castle said as his friend had been talking to them both. "But maybe it does."

"You mean the agents?" Beckett asked her husband. When he nodded she breathed out and said, "Which might explain Coupe being injured too."

"Maybe it's about all three of them," Castle commented.

"I would say yes but that's a hell of a reach," Beckett said.

"Um, no it's not," Brad said, standing up but holding onto his wife's hand. "I didn't tell you? They were from the field office in Albany."

"Had they worked on any cases before this one?" Beckett asked. "And I'm not talking about the FBI in general but-"

"Some minor explosions but they were related to drugs," Brad interrupted her.

"With you?" Castle asked.

"No," Brad said. "But that brings us back to the Riggenbachs…"

"What?" Lily asked her husband.

"You know we were talking about going back to Bledsoe, right?" Brad said to Castle and Beckett. "I forgot to tell you but I found something, a connection between him and Albany. Erica Pasio."

"The journalist," Castle and Beckett said together.

"That would make sense," Castle said, looking at her. "He likely knew her-"

"And he's looked into the bombing that killed her off and on," Beckett continued. "So he went up there; two weeks ago," she said as they'd discovered that looking into the vic's financials.

"And found enough evidence to discover who the killer was," Castle finished for her. He frowned and said, "But we didn't see anything at his home…"

"What?" Brad asked.

"There's a second safe?" Beckett asked him.

"I can't say that for sure; he's not a nightclub owner," Castle replied.

"It's still worth a look," Brad said before he turned to his wife and opened his mouth to speak before he paused.

"We'll be outside," Castle said, taking his wife's hand. They walked together over to their desk and he had her sit down. "What do you think?"

"To be honest I don't know," Beckett replied. "Their attacker moved the car?" she said.

Knowing that was rhetorical Castle nodded and said, "I know but…"

"We've looked at the list of names they knew in Albany," Beckett told him.

"What if…" Castle started say.

Studying him Beckett then said in realization, "Someone else from the FBI."

"That was my thought," Castle replied.

"Tell him," Beckett said.

Nodding Castle was about to turn around when he saw that his friend was coming out with Lily. He told him quickly about his idea, not surprised when Brad swore heavily. "You know someone who'd fit the profile?" he asked, being careful not to be too pushy with that question.

"Yeah, his name was Keith Yi," Brad replied. "And he… he worked with me on a kidnapping that went into a murder shortly after. He couldn't let go of the case, so he went after the man with me. I'd heard that he was demoted, about five weeks before the bombings."

"That's a short amount of time to plan," Beckett commented.

"Yes, but for now we need to head back to Bledsoe's," Brad said. "And then we need to get a hold of Scarsi and I need to find out about Coupe."

"You can right now," Castle commented before he nodded over to the entrance to the bullpen from the parking lot where most of the officers that had gone to where the chief's car had been were coming back in.

"Coupe?" Brad asked them all.

"He had a concussion sir, he was a little out of it so we couldn't really ask him more than what he told us," Wade said.

"He's at General?" Brad asked.

"Yes, we sent Rice and Fitzgerald to guard him," the officer assured him.

"Alright, Hutchinson, Wade," he told the officers. "We're going to Bledsoe's, follow us." When they agreed he then went to the parking lot before he paused and turned to Castle and Beckett who were right behind him.

"I can drive," Castle said first.

"I will," Brad said, holding out his hand.

"Just give him the keys Rick," Beckett told her husband.

The use of his first name made Castle hand them over quickly before he walked with his wife behind his friend. "Do you want the front or back?" he asked her as they were nearing their car. When she just glanced at him he nodded and moved to sit behind Brad before he asked his friend, "Would you like me to call Scarsi for you?"

"No need, he's here," Brad said as he pulled his ringing phone out of his pocket.

"You had your phone?" Beckett asked, looking at it.

"Yeah I guess…" Brad started to say before he hurriedly answered the phone. "Scarsi, where are you?"

"Where are you? They told me you were back at the station, but I just got here and they said-" the agent began to say.

"Follow us to Bledsoe's," Brad said. He hung up and said, "Do you remember when your brakes were cut?" directing it to Castle.

"Yes, do you think this is the same circumstance?" he asked.

"It's not," Beckett replied. "No this was desperation."

"To point us out to another patsy? Since I'm guessing you're thinking of McWilliams as we were leaving the ME after that," Brad asked her.

"I am but the issue becomes who he was trying to set up," Beckett said.

"If he was trying to frame the Riggenbachs he messed up," Castle said. "And if it was Yi or someone else at the FBI then they would have been able to find that out."

"We're here," Beckett said as they pulled up in front of the house. She got out first and then turned around, looking across the street.

"What?" Brad asked, watching as Castle looked as well.

"No…" Beckett said slowly, trying not to concern them though her hand was drifting naturally to her gun. "Sorry I thought someone was watching us."

"Well if they're from one of the houses at this time they'd be nosy," Castle commented.

"Guys?" Brad asked as his friend's voice was distant as well.

"Nothing, let's go inside," Castle said. He let Brad go over to where Hutchinson and Wade were and said, " _I'm not sure_ …"

" _Neither am I_ ," Beckett said. "But we'll find something here I'm sure."

"Great because now I'm not," Castle said as they went after the chief and officers inside the house.

"Do you guys have any idea where exactly any of this evidence might be?" Brad asked. "I'm not sure about this but you know talking to the people who worked with him said he stayed mostly at the paper right?" When he saw them pausing mid-step he said, "Thought I told you."

"You were caught up in that second safe idea," Castle told his wife as she frowned.

"No, you were," Beckett shot back though not all that seriously. She then went over to the chief and said, "We can take our car there."

"I'm not calling in for you," Brad said. "And I still have your keys. Wade, Hutchinson look around, but you can leave after fifteen minutes."

Following him out to the car Castle said, "I want to say we'll find something there, but it would be really weird if he thought it was safe enough at work to hide evidence there." He paused and then said, "Unless that second safe is there and it's just his."

Beckett glanced back at him before they soon reached the building for the _Report_ and got out before she said, "We're being tailed," to Brad across the roof.

"I got that this time too, but I only saw silver," the chief replied. He glanced over at the road the front of the building looked out on and he sighed saying, "We'll have to keep going but when we come back out keep your eye on traffic; I'll do the same."

Once they were inside the lobby Castle watched Brad speak to the secretary at the desk there before they watched as Sini came out to them.

"Chief is there something wrong?" the editor asked.

"No, we're here to ask you something," Brad said simply. "Did Bledsoe ever keep anything here to make sure it was secure?"

Sini opened his mouth before he paused and then said, "Actually he did. I can take you to the safe we have here."

"Do employees use it?" Castle asked in surprise.

"They do but mostly for stories," Sini said, taking them past the newsroom and the employee break room.

"Why do you have a vault?" Brad asked, startled by the door to one in front of them.

"This used to be a bank," Sini answered, going to a panel next to the door and entering a code. "The back part of the building; we kept the vault when we were about to add onto it. We change this code about… every two months for safety."

"Alright then what about Bledsoe? You mentioned to us that he had a story," Brad asked as they stepped inside the vault.

"Yeah, he said he had some great evidence but I didn't even think of that being here; he had a briefcase he took around with him, I just thought it was there," Sini said, leading them to the left of the vault.

"We found that briefcase," Brad told him simply before he found a small box with the victim's name on it.

"That was his," Sini said. "But… it's opened by code and I have no idea what that code is."

"Let us investigate this please," Brad told the man. When he left he said, "Five digits, it's-"

"Albany's zip code," the chief said with Castle and Beckett.

"But I'm sure that the city has more than one," Castle commented.

"He'd put where Pasio lived," Brad said, putting in the five-digit code.

When the box opened Beckett glanced at her husband before they turned their attention to Brad as he pulled something out.

"It's… what the hell is this?" Brad said as he looked at the two.

"It's Welsh," Beckett said. When the two men looked at her she quickly explained, "I looked into it but it's insanely hard to learn. But this looks like it."

"So now we just need to translate this," Castle said. "It's one word so I'll just-" he started to say before stopping when he saw his wife was taking her phone out of her pocket. "Might take a while to download an app."

"I'm not downloading an app," Beckett said. "Skye?" she said when she replied.

"Yes?" the woman answered as she could tell from her tone she was on a case.

"We need to know a word in Welsh," Beckett said, speaking quickly as she could tell from her friend's tone that something had happened.

"Alright," Skye replied.

" _Craith_ ," Beckett said, pronouncing it the best she could.

"Scar, it means scar," Skye replied swiftly.

"Skye!" a voice came in the background before there was the distant sound of a muffled boom and the line went dead.

"Scarsi," Castle and Beckett said, looking at Brad.

The chief swore, and he ran out of the vault before he realized what he was doing and looked back at the two.

"Go, we can catch a cab," Castle told him as he was getting his phone.

"No, we have no place to go," Brad replied.

"Scarsi called you," Beckett pointed out as the chief came back inside.

Brad nodded and then stepped away from him to dial on his phone before he was talking to Rice at the station. When he hung up he said, "They'll track and relay to… damn it," he swore when he recalled his car.

"Call Hutchinson and Wade, see if they'll join us," Beckett said. "And see if Scarsi reached them."

Doing so Brad wasn't surprised when the two agreed to relay dispatch's calls before they said Scarsi hadn't been to the house. "Alright, they should have something now, get in touch with them."

"Where's your radio?" Castle asked.

"That was in the car, came loose off my belt and I was going to put it back on once I was at the station," Brad said before Hutchinson was coming in on the other end.

"Sir they found his phone, he's at General," the officer said.

"He's going after Coupe," Castle said.

"Or they're working together," Beckett said as Brad was telling the officer to get Wade and get to the hospital where they would soon be.

"Negative," the chief said as he hung up his phone and they walked out of the vault; Castle bringing the box with them. "Bomber worked alone we could tell; profile never mentions they, always singular in tense."

"Then he's trying to kill Coupe," Beckett said as they walked rapidly to the car.

The drive over to the hospital was silent, all three thinking over their time with Scarsi though for Castle and Beckett it was for far less time. By the time they reached it they found Hutchinson and Wade waiting for them at the entrance.

"Did you find out where he is?" Brad asked, outright running to them.

"A little frustrating," Beckett commented, watching the three run into the hospital.

"Hopefully someone will remember us," Castle said, cupping her elbow with his hand and walking with her inside.

"He's on the fifth floor," Wade said as he was at the nurse's station there. "Go."

Castle was relieved it didn't take them long to get an elevator and as they were heading up he said, "Do you think he could?"

"No," Beckett replied simply. "Not here. He-" she began before the doors opened on the fifth floor and Hutchinson was there.

"You better go down to 502," the officer told them.

Walking rapidly to where they soon saw Brad was Castle said, "Is he dead?"

The chief, shaking his head, nodded wordlessly into the room which Castle and Beckett glanced at.

"He's gone," Castle stated though he didn't really need to.

"Scarsi _is_ going to kill him," Brad said grimly before they went to the elevators as an announcement came over the intercom, announcing the hospital was on lockdown.


	22. Feel The Heat As You Fry

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was glad to get the feedback I did for the last chapter, so will go ahead and get right to my thank yous for that! vetgirlmx (It was great to read that you thought the chapter was very exciting. And I wasn't surprised that you mentioned the second day of the flashback since as I knew, as you said, you wanted badly to know about it. But glad you thought that with them already having a lot of fun it could only get better with Alexis and the grandparents there too, lol, since I had the same idea writing it. And I'm not surprised you forgot how good Alexis and Martha were for Julia back then since it was so long ago. And I do get your point since while they are good for her still it was of course at the start back then. No surprise that you were startled about Johanna visiting Julia during the night. But yeah, I did hint at it a bit though there's no surprise that you weren't expecting it. And I had to laugh at your comment about how Julia didn't want to say anything about Johanna visiting her and then Eliza blurting it out as you put it. That's a little sister moment, lol, and what I saw her doing since she wasn't aware of Julia's hesitation, so I'm glad you liked that. But you do have a good point, it could've been a lot worse. And with Jim I figured his reaction would be because it was his granddaughter who told him. I'm not surprised either you want to see if Beckett will see her as well but have to see how that goes of course. Lol, I'm not surprised that you found the agents were so annoying that you were hoping it was one of them. Actually, I figured that would happen, lol, the way I was writing it seemed inevitable. And no surprise that you're glad they know who it is or that you were really scared when Brad was missing. Considering what happened to Lily the day before I figured it would be nail biting though of course it was for a very short time as you put it. No surprised you're trying to figure out why he was kidnapped, that I figure would throw people. And I'm not surprised that you're hoping they find Coupe before it's too late since he's at risk now. So glad that you're waiting eagerly for that and anything else that happens next since of course I know you want to read more and now you don't need to wait anymore for that!),

TORONTOSUN (Happy to see that you liked I brought back Johanna to see Julia. And great you thought it was good writing all around for the first chapter. I'm also pleased to read that you thought it was good writing in the second half with Jim and Brad as well!),

MsNYC (Lol, I had to laugh at your reaction to the end of the last chapter. And not surprised that you found Scarsi too pushy in the end. No surprise you're glad Brad's okay too, I knew readers would think that of course. And I'm glad to see you mentioned Johanna visiting the night before since I'm glad you liked that. I wasn't surprised that though you can understand that it freaks Beckett out, you think she should allow her mother to visit her at least once. I do know how you love the flashbacks and happy that you do! Also, nice to see you enjoy when I write scenes with Alexis and her sisters, present and past as you put it, as I enjoyed doing the writing, lol. And of course, happy to see you thought it was great writing as usual the last chapter! If you still need to remember someone you can still post it, but I think your review was very nice!) and

Mb (Very pleased to read first off you thought it was a sweet and lovely update. So glad that you thought the bit where Julia was talking to the spirit of Johanna after she'd asked Alfred to ask her grandmother to come was nicely done. I wasn't sure how that would be taken so to see your reaction was nice. And I'm glad you thought it was a good way to have Johanna go to her after Julia had explained to Mari and Eve that she protects her and her family from the negative spirits. And I figured that since she knew Eliza could see spirits too she should have the chance to see their grandmother. I also figured Julia would worry about Beckett's reaction to the idea her mother's spirit visiting her and she would also not want her sad because of the baby. I wasn't surprised you thought it was interesting that Beckett was blocking the ability to see her mother but that I just figured would be something she would do because of her skepticism. And the same with you finding it interesting that the baby looks like it will have the same abilities as her sisters, but I've heard of it being a hereditary thing, so it made sense to me that would happen. I'm not surprised you loved the rest of the flashback since it had a young Julia and them becoming a family. I'm glad you love her with Alexis, Martha and Jim since I do love writing her with them. I also wasn't surprised that you found it a little sad that Castle and Beckett had to hide their relationship back then. And yeah, I wouldn't have made it last much longer than I did since I didn't like writing that myself. I had to laugh at you saying the agents were making Brad's, Castle and Beckett's work harder because of their stupidity, it doesn't surprise me you did, lol. Great you thought the first half was a sweet update and you're very welcome for sharing! And I was of course glad that you thought it was a fantastic update with the second half. I had to laugh at how you said I started off the second half with a nice leisurely pace with that flashback of Julia becoming more and more comfortable with Castle, Alexis, Martha and Jim before there was the bam, lol, with the phone call. Not surprised you mentioned the call about not finding Brad and Coupe and then finding the car wrecked and Coupe but no Brad. And I figured they would worry about Brad and Lily both because of what happened the day before. I'm not surprised that you mentioned Scarsi being conveniently sick and him being the common denominator with the case. And not surprised either that you saw Brad being allowed to get away so the comber could lead them to another person being framed. I'm glad you enjoyed that bit with Castle and Beckett with Brad and Lily building theory today to look back at the first vic and get that real lead as you put it. I'm so pleased that you thought the second vault with that evidence that the vic wrote down in Welsh was awesome, thought that would be a cool twist. And of course, nice that you thought Beckett calling Skye to translate that word into scar was a good way to reveal that. I did think it was interesting that you thought Skye might be dealing with her own bombing case with the bomb, wondered if anyone would mention it. And also interesting to see with Coupe taken from the hospital by the bomber/Scarsi as you put it, you wonder if it's another twist or setup coming. And it was nice to see you thought it was a fantastic update enough to say that twice! You're very welcome for sharing the second half as well!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading them all of course and I am grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Tears of the World_ by George Harrison, from the original rejected track listing of his album _Somewhere in England_.

Feel The Heat As You Fry

"I want a search of these woods," Brad was saying to his officers. "I wouldn't put it past Scarsi to try to go this way out of the hospital while we all thought he was going on the road. So we'll split up and then keep in touch via radio." He directed his officers to where he wanted them to go and said to Castle and Beckett, "You'll come with?"

"Yes," Beckett said, getting her gun out of her holster. She and her husband followed the chief, walking into the woods that bordered the hospital to the north.

"This," Brad began to say as they made their way through the trees. "Gives you a great view."

"It does," Castle and Beckett said.

"You two had it at yours?" Brad asked them.

"Yeah, when I was here last month," Castle said.

"And when I had Eliza," Beckett said before she looked at the radio Brad had on his hip then as it crackled to life.

"Chief, this is Hall," the officer said on the other end.

"Come in," Brad replied.

"We found… at the edge," the officer replied.

"Repeat Hall," Brad said, looking at Castle and Beckett.

"Edge… far… found him," the officer was nearly yelling.

"My luck I get the defective radio," Brad said in an aside to Castle and Beckett. "I'll be over Hall." When he put away the radio he told the two sternly, "Go back to the hospital."

"But we-" Castle started to say.

"Go," Brad told them in a firm tone of voice.

Going as he was watching them Beckett said, "He's thinking of Lily you know."

"Well, I suppose I should be glad he's not thinking of you too directly," Castle commented. When his wife looked at him he smiled and then said, "You know what I mean."

Sighing Beckett was about to speak when she stopped at the same time he did, and she said, " _Do you feel that_?"

" _Yes_ ," Castle replied, trying not to look around for the reason why everything around them had gone silent.

When her husband glanced at her Beckett already had her gun in her hand, breathing a little hard before the breeze blew to her left. "Move!" she said before her husband jumped as she turned in the opposite direction, holding her weapon up in front of her. But before she could react her arms were struck and she staggered, dropping the gun before she felt an arm hooking around her neck. "S-" she began to say as she could see her husband standing in front of her.

"Coupe," Castle interrupted her as he knew she was about to name the wrong agent. Seeing his wife's eyes widening he then told the man, "Let her go."

"I know about her," the agent almost snarled. "You think I'm going to let her go to let her take me down?"

"She can't," Castle said, his eyes going to his wife quickly. "She's pregnant, let her go and you can just walk away."

"I don't think so," Coupe said, about to pull her with him.

"No!" Castle said immediately as Beckett was immediately beginning to try to pull away. "If you're going to take a hostage-"

"Rick," Beckett started to say.

Holding out his hand to her Castle almost launched himself at his wife when Coupe tossed her aside before the man was shooting in the air.

"They're going to be coming now, let's go," Coupe said angrily before he grabbed Castle by the neck and dragged him after him.

Racing to her gun; as she hadn't been hurt when she'd been pushed; without running, Beckett got her phone out as well and dialed Brad's number. When he didn't pick up she swore and then jogged as carefully as she could after the agent and her husband.

Not sure how far they'd ended up going after they'd left Beckett, Castle took the first opportunity he had before he was hooking his leg back on the agent. The second Coupe was on the ground after he'd managed to unbalance him he reached for the man's gun but was unable to get it before the agent recovered.

"I'll have to go without insurance," Coupe said as he aimed for Castle's head once he was standing. "But luckily you'll be a nice dent in Davis' life."

"Coupe," Brad yelled as he appeared between two trees. "Put down the gun."

"One on one Davis," the agent said. "I shoot you and then him."

"Two on one Coupe," Beckett said, appearing opposite the chief. "Put down your gun."

Shaking his head Coupe's finger was about to fire when he suddenly jerked back and forward before he collapsed to the ground. He hissed when Brad ran to him and stepped on his right wrist as he'd managed to hold onto his gun.

Once Brad tossed the weapon aside he contacted his officers and wasn't surprised when Hutchinson and Bernier reached them first. "Is someone getting a stretcher?" he asked.

"Hall is telling them, with Rice," Bernier replied.

"Good, are you alright?" Brad directed to Beckett.

"Yes," she said simply, putting her gun back in her holster as the officers were putting pressure on the wounds Coupe had sustained from them both.

"You ran here," Castle told his wife as he was up and had made his way to her as soon as Coupe had been shot.

"Jogged and I'm fine," Beckett said reassuringly.

"You two can head back to the station," Brad said.

"Wait, Hall said they found a man," Castle said. "Was it Scarsi?"

"It was, Hall surprised him in the parking lot close to the trees and Coupe had knocked him out, tossing him aside," Brad answered. "I don't know why Bledsoe wrote down what was essentially his… oh damn it."

"What?" Castle asked in surprise.

"Coupe has a scar?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, on the back of his left hand," Brad sighed. "It's small but if you see it you'll notice it, it's white on his skin there. Okay go unless you need to be checked out Kate."

"I'm fine, where's Lily?" Beckett asked.

"Still at the station," Brad replied. "Listen," he said before he needed to pause as Coupe was rushed away. "I'm going to follow and talk to him but after this I'm going to take her to lunch at the café before I get her back home. Will you come with?" he asked.

"Yeah, we'll tell her," Castle said with a smile before he grew serious. "You're okay?"

"Fine just… shocked," Brad said. "Though I'm really interested in finding out what the hell he's had against me this entire time."

"Tell us?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah, I'll see you back at the station," Brad said before he then ran after the agent on the stretcher.

"Come on," Castle said, placing his hand on his wife's back.

Nodding, Beckett allowed him to lead the way to their car before she murmured, "The restaurant."

"Yeah, the school… I really hope he'll ask about everything," Castle said. When they reached the car he opened the passenger door for her and said, "But for now I'm really worried Kate."

"I'm alright," Beckett assured him before he closed the door. She waited for him to come around to sit in the passenger seat and once he was she told him, "But I'll rest now if that'll make you feel better."

"You too," Castle replied to her.

"Just go before I tell you we need to stay and help Brad wrap up," Beckett said with slight amusement.

"It's why he's got all the help he does in the officers," Castle said as he started the car. He smiled when his wife squeezed his hand and he did the same back to her, driving away from the hospital. He tried to go as fast as he could so they could assure Lily that her husband was alright after wrapping up their case; knowing Beckett wanted to do that especially as they neared the part of town where the station was located.

* * *

"Brad-" Lily started to say as she stood up from where she was sitting at the table in the break room.

"He's fine," Beckett assured her. "We-"

"That wasn't what I was going to say," Lily said with a slight smile. "Dispatch just talked to him and let me talk to him over the radio quickly so I could make sure he was alright." She then grew serious and said, "Please tell me he was joking though and meant to say Scarsi."

Castle and Beckett looked at one another and were about to speak before Lily interjected.

"So it was Coupe," the woman breathed out. She sighed and said, "We had him over for dinner before, he was a great guy. What happened?"

"Brad's trying to figure that out," Castle replied. "But I think we have an idea because of the FBI profile. And that when he tried to shoot me he talked about hurting Brad. What do you know about him?" he then asked Lily.

Breathing out slightly the woman said, "Not a whole lot, he's from Boston but he always wanted to be in the city."

"And yet he was at the Albany field office," Castle said as he looked at his wife.

"And then in DC," Beckett said with a nod before they looked back at her friend.

"Yeah, he talked about them not really hiring when he tried to go there so he was biding his time essentially in Albany," Lily continued. "But the thing is he never sounded angry just impatient."

"That's it?" Beckett asked when she didn't continue. When Lily shrugged she then asked, "Did he ever mention family, friends? Significant others?"

"I thought he and Scarsi might have something because I have seen the two of them together, but Brad told me he was straight," Lily said. "He meant Coupe, Scarsi's gay."

"Okay then I guess seeing you two together pushed him too," Castle commented.

"Hopefully Coupe will talk," Beckett said. "To someone if not to Brad himself."

"Or Scarsi," Lily reminded them.

"Did he tell you about lunch?" Beckett asked.

"No," Lily replied. "He's taking me out?"

"To the café," Castle said. "And we're joining you if you don't mind."

"You two are done, aren't you?" Lily asked the two with a smile.

"We are but we'll have to sign the paperwork before we can go home," Castle said, looking at his watch.

"We'll ask Brad when he gets here," Beckett told him, knowing what he was thinking of. She glanced out into the bullpen and with a smile said, "We can do that now," as she saw the chief was making his way to the room from his office where he'd obviously been looking for them.

"Hey," Brad said as he stepped inside the room. He embraced his wife once she came to him and said, "He wouldn't talk."

"Not a surprise," Castle said. "Will we have to wait?"

"I spoke to Scarsi and he did," Brad replied. "He's not involved," he said quickly as the two looked startled. "When he came to he was asking to talk to me; he wanted to make sure we knew it was Coupe so we could get him. But once I said he was in custody he started to tell me what he'd found out about Coupe."

"When?" Castle asked.

"Right before he got sick," Brad said. "He and I agree that Coupe was responsible as they had dinner at the hotel together; in Coupe's room. But he said he'd found out before they became partners Coupe had been trying to get a promotion and he was turned down. And then seven months before the bombings in Albany began he was denied both a promotion and a move to the NYC office."

"But why focus on you?" Beckett asked.

"At the same time, I'd been in the paper for working a case where some nut job was going to bomb school buses… I guess that's why Coupe went after the playground eventually," Brad said, making a face. "But we think it was just that in that investigation connected to me. He killed who he did because it was easy. He knew all the vics but was just acquaintances with them; not friends; so his name wouldn't have come up when we talked to the friends and family of the vics."

"So that brings us to now," Beckett said, not surprised when the chief took a deep breath, looking as if he was preparing what he needed to say mentally before his wife was suddenly doing so instead.

"It was that article about you in the _Report_ wasn't it?" Lily asked him. When her husband looked at her in slight shock she added, "And he kept up on you didn't he?"

"Yeah," Brad replied. "Scarsi said that Coupe mentioned the article about my commendation from the governor after that article came out. Coupe just never mentioned where he saw the news or else he would have thought it was weird he knew about it. And Scarsi knows now where Coupe was on his time off last week."

"Setting up the bomb?" Castle guessed.

"Exactly," Brad said with a nod. "We got the boat but of course it's clean of any prints. And he knew Bledsoe was onto him as he'd spoken to their supervisor but the supervisor never let him ask any questions so he had no clue what he was investigating. But he told Scarsi and Coupe about it and since Scarsi didn't know the name he didn't think anything of it. He also said Coupe reacted the same way so he put the incident out of his mind. And Coupe likely put the bomb at the school as a warning, you guys were right, and likely because of the hit at the playground and that bus bomber too."

"And my restaurant?" Lily asked.

"Plus McWilliams," Beckett added.

"Yeah… both people I cared about," Brad answered. "And that's the simplest explanation; likely the reason as well." He shook his head as he squeezed his wife's hand that slipped into his before he looked at Castle who was beginning to ask a question.

"Did he have any kind of background with this?" he said. Castle wasn't surprised when Brad merely nodded, and he then said, "Scarsi did too?" At a second nod he said, "Then you answered my last question, Bledsoe thought it was Scarsi because he found out about his…"

"There was a course in the FBI Academy they both took but he focused on Scarsi because; before he joined the FBI; he was part of a bomb disposal unit with the St. Louis PD," Brad answered. "Coupe it was just the course but Scarsi said he studied the text for the course religiously, but they needed to pass the test so…"

"So he hated his partner I'm guessing?" Castle said.

"Yeah, this was Scarsi's last case before he moved on to a higher position," Brad said. "He didn't tell me what, but I thought it might be Assistant Director… maybe." He shrugged and then said, "Which means that Coupe wanted two things and wasn't getting them. Attention and power."

"And apparently a big city to work in," Beckett added.

"Good point," Brad said. "And with the accident I was in with him, he hired Ralph."

"No surprise there," Beckett said, since that was a local thief they knew at the station.

"According to him Coupe hired him to hit the car we would be in to teach us a lesson… which makes no sense which since he was hurt too. So Ralph'll be going to jail for a while as well. And I can get the papers read for you to sign right now that way you can just go when we're finished with lunch."

"You're shoving us out," Castle said jokingly.

"Do you mind if Eliza and my dad join us?" Beckett asked the chief. "She's almost out of school…"

"That's fine," Lily answered before her husband could. "This wasn't supposed to be a double date or anything, just lunch."

"After can I persuade you to give my wife a ride back home?" Brad asked them.

"Brad-" Lily began to say.

"You're going to need to head back, I'm just going to do paperwork anyway," he interrupted her. "And you could…"

"I'll start looking at the baby's room and seeing what I'd like to get online," Lily said with a sigh.

"Thank you," Brad told her with a smile. "We can go now," he told the two. "Once you two sign the papers." He went over to his office with the three following him before he said, "I can get the papers set in a second."

"And we can sign that fast," Castle said before he looked at his wife. "We have experience."

Beckett rolled her eyes but didn't say anything as she was getting her phone out of her pocket so she could text her father. He answered back quickly, and she smiled at his message before she handed the phone to her husband.

Reading it himself Castle smiled and said, "Jim has Eliza already and they're hurrying back to the house so they can get the car."

"Does Eliza know they're coming to lunch with us?" Lily asked.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "My father didn't tell her, he wants us to surprise her again."

"Cute," Lily said before Brad was calling to them to get their attention.

As soon as Castle and Beckett had signed the paperwork where they needed to the chief said, "Okay, we can go."

"Can you really?" Castle asked. "And how can you go or are we giving you a ride?"

"Remember the car that I have for the officers?" Brad reminded them.

"It's yours now?" Beckett asked with a smile as they were walking over to the parking lot.

"It is, I have to wonder if the budget next year will allow us to get another," Brad commented as they stopped at their cars.

"They're going to ask if you really need it or could you just use another squad car since it'll go to an officer," Beckett pointed out.

"It's worth a shot," Brad said with a smile before he unlocked the passenger door for his wife. "We'll see you there."

"Should we have walked?" Beckett asked her husband once they were in the car.

"A little cold and I bet you anything Brad doesn't want Lily walking all the way over there," Castle said. He knew his wife was staring at him and he said with a smile, "I don't want you to either."

"I was waiting for that," Beckett said, smiling herself. She squeezed her husband's hand and looked around as he pulled into the parking lot. "They're here," she said as she soon saw her father waving to them. The second her husband had parked she got out and smiled as Eliza ran over to her. "Hello sweetie," she said in amusement as she hugged her daughter tightly.

"Are you kay?" Eliza asked.

"Yes… why?" Beckett replied in confusion.

"Julia texted me," Jim said. "Asking if I knew if you two were alright, not too long ago."

Breathing out heavily Castle smiled when his wife looked at him and then quickly told their daughter, "We're just fine. We had a little bit of a tussle when we needed to arrest the person who did everything, but we got him."

"You did?" Eliza asked hopefully.

"We did, he won't hurt anyone again," Brad said as he and Lily walked over to them. "By the way; Kate are you alright? And how's Julia?"

Beckett smiled and then said, "I'm fine and Julia is too, she went without bandages today."

"Great to hear," Lily said. "She's at lunch now isn't she?"

"She is," Castle said as he looked at his watch. "And speaking of lunch we should go in so we're not out here in the cold," he told them. He took Eliza's hand as Beckett held the other and together he and his wife walked with their daughter, leading their friends and her father into the café for their meal.

* * *

"What does it say?" Mari whispered to her friend as she was looking at her phone under the table in the cafeteria.

" _Daddy and I are okay, have fun at lunch we love you_ ," Julia read in a whisper. She breathed out heavily and put away her phone before she said, "I'm so glad, but something happened."

"Are you going to tell her your grandma said?" Dawn asked as she and Peter were at the table with the two girls.

"I don't know," Julia breathed out. "They're having lunch with my sister," she then told the two across the table from them. When they looked startled she smiled and said, "They sent a picture, I think they're at the café by the station again. Brad and Lily were there so I think Grandpapa took the picture."

"You're not jealous?" Peter asked.

"Nah, I got loads of time with my mom and dad before Eliza was born," Julia said. She sighed impatiently and said, "I wish it was closer to when my sister was born."

"Are you sure? Don't babies cry all night and smell?" Peter asked.

Shaking her head but not mad, since she was aware already that her dance partner was an only child, Julia said, "They do that at the start and they can't help the smell. Though I don't like that either. But it's fun to take care of them when they smell like baby powder." She smiled widely and said, "Wanna hold my sister when she's born?"

"Oh, don't be a baby," Dawn said, nudging him in the side as he flinched. "If Julia can hold a baby you can too."

"I'll see," Peter mumbled before he ate more of his macaroni and cheese.

Squeezing Julia's hand Mari asked them all, "What do you want to do after we finish?"

"Go outside," Dawn said first.

"Yeah, want to play four square?" Peter asked them.

Seeing Mari was shaking her head Julia said, "You guys can play."

"Are you just gonna walk around on the field?" Dawn asked.

"Yeah, maybe make a snowman," Julia said with a smile at her friend.

"I can't wait," Mari replied with a wide smile of her own.

After they had finished their food Julia threw away her trash and took back the tray, smiling at one of the lunch ladies that was standing where they needed to put their trays to be washed. "Hello Miss Rivas," she told her.

"How are you doing Julia?" the woman asked.

"Really good, thank you," Julia replied with a smile before she turned to wait for Mari to finish, realizing that Peter and Dawn were walking over to where she was standing.

"I thought you were going to play Four Square?" Mari asked as she joined her friend.

"We want to make snowmen with you," Peter said first.

"Great, let's go," Julia told them before they then went together over to the door to go out. Once they were there they went together up the stairs to the field and she said, "Should we make a fat one or different ones?"

"Different ones," Peter said. "We should make an army! That way when they come tomorrow to check the trees they'll get scared."

"Cool," Julia and Mari said before they glanced at Dawn who was looking at them. "What?" the latter asked.

"Nothing," Dawn said with a slight frown.

"No, there is something," Julia said. "Tell us."

"Does it have to be an army?" Dawn finally asked them.

"Nah, just a lot of them so they think it is," Peter said. "Let's hurry."

"We'll split up," Julia told them before they were doing so. She went with Mari away from them and said, "I'm so glad this case is over."

"'Cause it was dangerous?" the little girl asked, looking over at her.

"No because now my mom can get some rest," Julia replied. "You know she's not going to work again until the baby is born. You know what?"

"Huh?" Mari asked as they stopped making the bottom of the snowman.

"Now they can work on their other books they're going to write," Julia commented.

"You mean the one from the past?" Mari asked as her friend had told her about it the day before.

"Yep," Julia replied. "That would be so cool," she added. "Since it's them again."

"And you, you would be there too," Mari reminded her.

Smiling Julia shook her head and said, "That would be cool, but I wouldn't help them solve the cases that they do."

"Still, you'd be in there… kinda," Mari said.

"In where?" Peter said as he walked to them.

"What?" Julia asked, trying to divert the discussion away from what she already thought was hers and her parents' past life.

"How're we gonna decorate them?" Peter asked.

"Um, we have to try and find rocks… maybe tree branches," Julia said as Mari glanced at her to answer.

"We can go get them now; first," the little girl said then before they rushed together over to the trees together. "Let's use the branches for ties."

"Good idea," Julia said, relieved at the change in subject as she wanted to focus on the rest of recess before they had to go in. But while she and Mari were picking some branches; Peter and Dawn joining them after; she made a note to herself to ask her parents about their story idea to see if they had anything new. She then turned her attention back to the accessories for the snowmen and the time they would have outside still together to play.

* * *

"Should we be concerned Julia didn't reply?" Castle asked his wife.

"Why?" Beckett said as she looked at him next to her on the couch.

"I think he thinks that one of the proctors-" Jim started to say; sitting on his son in law's desk chair.

"Or the lunch ladies," Beckett interrupted him.

With a smile at his daughter Jim finished saying, "Might have taken her phone."

"I doubt it," Beckett then said. "And she probably had to hide it. And why are we here?"

"You said you were gonna talk about your story Mommy," Eliza said, looking over from the desk where she was sitting on her grandfather's lap.

"We are but after you finish," Beckett said, standing up. She placed her hands on the small of her back and walked over to her, looking at the worksheets she had in front of her.

"She's almost done," Jim replied. "Do you want us here with you?" he said, looking up at his daughter.

"That's fine," Beckett said. She looked at her father and then said, "What's wrong?"

"No, it's just in this… dream," Jim said slowly as he glanced at his son in law who was coming over to them. "The father who you said was me had passed away by then."

"Yeah but we discussed it and we need to make it different," Castle said. "So the father will be alive; we think the addition of the club will be really nice for some plots. But the man I saw there we'll keep an orphan."

"Sounds like it'll be nice," Jim said.

"Mommy?" Eliza asked, looking over at her parents as they were going together back to their couch. "Are you gonna keep them away from each other?"

"No," Beckett said with a smile, knowing what she was asking about. "We'll have them be engaged."

"Not married?" Jim asked, not surprised.

"When we first see them, he'll be proposing to her," Castle said. "And eventually they'll be married but this time around they won't need to keep it secret."

"Are you sure you want us to stick around for this?" Jim asked as he helped Eliza down to the ground since she'd finished with her last worksheet.

"Well…" Castle said slowly, looking at his wife.

"We can plan for a little bit," Beckett said. "But not for very long we did want to spend time with you Eliza," she told the little girl with a smile as she was standing in front of her by then.

"Kay," Eliza said with a smile before she hugged her mother around the neck.

"I'll check these," Jim said as he held up the worksheets.

"Thank you, Dad," Beckett said with a smile before she watched them leave. "Okay Rick but like I said, not for very long."

"We won't," Castle promised her before he then kissed her cheek.

"She's not kicking," Beckett said as her husband had pressed his hand to her abdomen. "But she has been moving I told you that."

"I know but I would like to feel her kick, just to make sure," Castle replied. He shared a kiss with her before he said, "What would you like to think of first?"

"The case," Beckett replied. "But it needs to be something twenties."

"True," Castle said with a nod. "Should we just give in to the inevitable and go with hooch?"

Beckett smiled at the slang before she then said, "Why don't we start with that before we make the reason for the murder something else."

"Should we tie it in to the club?" Castle asked then, writing that down in the notebook his wife would use when they planned their plots.

"Give me that," Beckett replied. "And no, bring the club into it another book. That is if we keep going with this."

"I'm sure we will, people do like period mysteries," Castle pointed out to her.

"We- oh, she's kicking," Beckett said when the feel of that startled her. She smiled and then brought her husband's hand to where the baby was doing so, and she wasn't surprised at the relief on his face. "I told you I wasn't running that fast; I wasn't running I was jogging. And not even that really."

Breathing out; since it wasn't the first time he'd told her that; Castle said, "Sorry."

"No, it's a good thing that you would be concerned," Beckett said. "And touching," she added, taking his hand and squeezing it tightly for a moment. "But we should go back to it; remember Eliza."

"I do," Castle said, nodding his head. "But first are we set with the names?"

Beckett; having expected that; was flipping through the notebook to where they'd planned the names together one day before they started thinking of plots. She smiled at the notes she'd made under the names; where they wanted to go with the lives of the main characters; before she looked at the list. "So you're Robert; or Robin," she began with. "And I'm Kathleen… was the name Lena around then?"

"I believe so," Castle replied. "We can look that up later and it is a nickname."

Nodding at the reminder Beckett continued with, "My dad is Jack, we're keeping the brother Junior and my mother is Jane."

"You want to keep Skye with your family?" Castle asked her.

With a smile Beckett said, "Yes, and she'll be Roselyn and before you say anything I'll remind you that Skye is fine with the name."

"Okay, so Mother is Madeline," Castle said. "Should we have my father ever found?"

Shaking her head Beckett said, "I don't think so. So last are Patrick and Mary; and they will be Parker and Melissa."

"Right you're sure you don't want to name our kids? Oh, Julia?" Castle asked.

Giving him a look, since he already knew what they'd picked, Beckett said, "Janelle. Now can we move back to this first plot?"

"Yes, okay so we need to make it a bootlegger… no how about this," Castle said. "Someone taking hooch off the boat by the club is strangled during the night and Lena finds it," he told them.

"Okay so there's a connection to both bootlegging and the club," Beckett said with a smile.

"Now for the reason," Castle said.

"Yes, I thought perhaps we might use a cop," Beckett said.

"Dirty?" Castle asked.

"Filthy," Beckett answered. "And killing the worker because they thought it was someone else." When her husband studied her she smiled and explained, "Someone else working for another bootlegger, he's paid by the one the worker killed on the beach is paid by too. But the person bribing him has him knock off the innocent employee as he thinks he's with his girl."

"Oh, I like that twist and not exactly dealing with hooch," Castle said. He then said, "What about at the end?"

"You have that in mind already I can tell," Beckett said with a smile.

"Okay so Robin and Lena have him cornered together… across from the beach. No," Castle said quickly. "On the road, well along the side."

"Better," Beckett told him with a nod. "And let me guess, before Robin can arrest him he gets shot."

"Right, by someone across the street," Castle said. "Who they don't see."

"Will that become their crusade?" Beckett asked.

"No, let's have Robin recognize the gun work from a past case," Castle suggested. "And then we'll just have him talk to his captain and realize he can't really catch the guy."

"Maybe have the shooter gone on a ship?" Beckett asked.

"Yeah," Castle said. "Okay so we have the basic plot now, we're all set."

"We are," Beckett said with a smile. She was just closing the notebook before she saw that her husband was looking at her and she asked, "What?"

"You remembered something," Castle said quickly. "From our past life." When she rolled her eyes he smiled and said, "Tell me and I swear I'll tell you something I remembered talking about this just now."

Breathing out slowly Beckett thought for a moment before she nodded her head and then said, "Alright, this happened after we were married and in Mill Valley." And with that she then began what had come to her and so strongly that she almost felt as if she could relive it while telling him everything.

* * *

 _"Ma?" Julia asked, looking up at her mother. "Where's Da?"_

 _"He'll be home soon," Kate assured her with a smile. "And we'll decorate the tree then."_

 _"Good," Julia said with a wide smile. "Will he hang all the ornaments with us?"_

 _"Of course, you know he's done it before," Kate replied. "Now-" she started to say before they heard a car going down the driveway next to the house._

 _"Da!" Julia exclaimed happily._

 _"Hold on honey," Kate told her daughter, grabbing her shoulder. "It's raining you know."_

 _"But I wanna see…" Julia began. She saw the look on her mother's face and sighed before she stopped trying to walk away from her. She was pleased when her mother took her by the hand to walk to the kitchen and she waited eagerly for her father to enter the house by the door to lean-to just past it._

 _"Hello," Rick said with a smile as he closed the door behind him to find his wife and their daughter at the doorway to the kitchen. "Have you been waiting for me?"_

 _"Julia has," Kate said, smiling back at him herself. "She's crazy to get the tree dolled up."_

 _"And see you," the little girl said quickly while he was taking off his coat and then hat._

 _"Do you need to change?" Kate asked him._

 _"I do, ferry was cold and wet," Rick replied._

 _"You weren't sitting inside you sap?" Kate asked teasingly as he walked up to him. She smiled when he shrugged, and she leaned over to him and kissed him gently on the lips before telling him, "Go on, we'll be with the tree."_

 _"Right," Rick replied though he wanted to kiss her again. He jogged through the house until he could reach the stairs and went to the steps up to their bedroom. He changed in a rush and after running a comb through his hair he went down to his family, seeing that Julia was looking through the box with their ornaments. With her slightly distracted he went straight to his wife of a little over a week and he kissed her deeply as he held her close._

 _Julia, having heard her father come inside, looked up and she giggled behind her hands at the sight of her parents kissing each other deeply. Once they'd parted she looked back down at the ornaments again though she'd already done so before she felt a hand on her shoulder that made her look up._

 _"I think you're ready to go Julia," Rick told her with a smile._

 _Nodding her head, the little girl asked, "Can I hang up this one?"_

 _"We all will," Kate replied. "But your da needs to put up the star first."_

 _Nodding Julia stepped back a little to watch that and she said, "When are Grandma and Auntie Rosie gonna come?"_

 _"Tomorrow," Rick reminded her after brushing off his hands once he was finished. "These next?" he asked his wife._

 _Nodding Kate said, "Tomorrow's Christmas Eve and we'll start cooking."_

 _"Your uncle is coming as well," Rick said. "And because he is I should take him around town."_

 _"You should," Kate said with a smile as that had been directed to her since she was going with him around the tree to put the cranberry garland on the branches. "They'll be here often."_

 _"Can I go too?" Julia asked, bringing over some ornaments._

 _"I think so," Rick said when his wife looked at him for him to answer. "No saloons love."_

 _"No but there's the barbershop," Kate reminded him. "Can't see her having fun there."_

 _"Hmm," Rick replied, rubbing at his cheek absently. "We'll hit the place another time. No, he'll want to see that bookshop and I'll show him the homes."_

 _"He'll enjoy that," Kate commented since her brother in law enjoyed architecture. "But for now, we better help her."_

 _"She'll have all the fun," Rick added. When his wife rolled her eyes, he smiled at her and said, "What do you say we go for a ride?"_

 _"Where?" Kate asked as Julia turned from the silver sphere she'd just hung._

 _"Down the road," Rick replied._

 _"To the rest'aunt?" Julia asked hopefully._

 _"Restaurant," Kate pronounced for her._

 _Pouting at her mother; who was also her teacher since she'd started doing that when they'd moved into the home; Julia said, "Restaurant," carefully._

 _"Yes, there," Rick said, a smile on his face as he watched the two. "It's the darb."_

 _"You just want me to get all dolled up," Kate told him._

 _Nodding Rick then said, "That and to take out my girls."_

 _"We will, but you'll have to go back out in the rain," Kate reminded him as together they began to hang up ornaments with their daughter._

 _Nodding his head Rick said, "If I didn't want to be in the rain I should go on down to Los Angeles."_

 _"Too wild," Kate said, shaking her head._

 _Rick smiled and went over to her, kissing her on the cheek before he said, "Good place to show you off love."_

 _"Go on," Kate replied, pushing him away with a laugh. "And we're almost done," she said, looking at the box with all the ornaments. She took out one of a flower made from tinsel and hung it before she said to her daughter, "Alright honey?"_

 _"Yeah," Julia said, smiling at her. They watched as Rick hung up the last ornament, a sphere of red, and said, "Can we go?"_

 _"Yes, let's get your glad rags on," Kate told her daughter before they went to the stairs with Rick following._

 _Once he'd changed Rick remained in his and his wife's room, waiting for her to appear which she did soon after. "Julia?" he asked her._

 _"In her room pretending she and her dolls are at the restaurant," Kate replied. She was going to say more but needed to pause as her husband was grabbing her and kissing her. She responded eagerly before they slowly parted. "Better let me dress," she told him as he began to lean down to her._

 _"Alright," Rick said easily though he was frustrated. He went to their bed and sat on it, watching his wife remove her dress and slip on her white blouse and skirt before she put on the blue and white striped tie that went with the outfit. As she put on the white blazer over that he smiled and said, "Your sister would be glad to see you now."_

 _"I told her it's the bee's knees," Kate replied with a smile. "So she knows."_

 _Rick nodded and then stood saying, "Better get to Julia before she starts cooking for her dolls."_

 _Kate smiled and nodded before they went together to their daughter's room to take her with them down to get their coats and in her case cape. They ran together to the garage and the Tin Lizzie where she got Julia settled in the back as Rick was winding it up. She let him drive away from their home and they were soon going down the road to a restaurant in Sausalito though it was close to Mill Valley. Inside she said, "They're gonna know us by name."_

 _"That's good, can get a good steak," Rick replied. He was speaking to the maître d before they were led to a table at a window, looking out on the road that would take them to where the ferry docked if they chose to go further into the city. "I wonder," he told his wife once they had ordered. "Should we stay tomorrow?"_

 _"No, we'll all be filling the kitchen," Kate said. "And it's enough for the three of us. So we will take care of the food, just make sure we have enough fire for the stoves all through the home."_

 _Nodding his head Rick looked at Julia and asked her, "Did your ma teach you at all today honey?"_

 _Smiling at him Julia replied, "I know how to spell rain."_

 _"I'm all ears," Rick said, leaning exaggeratedly over to her._

 _"R… a-i-n," Julia spelled out before she looked at her mother._

 _"Perfect," Kate said with a smile at her._

 _"She's right, you'll do well in school," Rick commented._

 _"Do I need to go?" Julia asked._

 _"Not for a little longer," Kate told her firmly. "But soon."_

 _Julia wrinkled her nose before she looked with her parents at the waiter who was coming back with their food._

 _"Before we eat," Rick told them. "For our first Christmas as family."_

 _"Our first Christmas," Kate said with a smile as she tapped her glass against his. And after they had done the same with Julia they began to eat, anticipating the next day and how the holiday would be since they were married that time around._


	23. Feel The Heat As You Fry (Part 2)

"We had a nice Christmas," Castle commented once his wife had stopped.

"And it wasn't out first either apparently," Beckett commented with a smile.

"No if I was raised with you then I think we celebrated a number of times before," Castle said. He smiled at her and then said, "So we're set?"

"We're set, let's go," Beckett replied. She stood up with her husband and said, "If she wants to go out we should let her." When her husband looked at her she said quickly, "Don't look at me like that, I want to go outside too." She paused before she then said slowly, "Without having to worry about running around the woods."

"I can't blame you for that," Castle replied with a nod. "But hopefully you don't want to run around." He smiled when his wife rolled her eyes and they walked together to the family room where he saw their youngest was standing in the middle of the room playing tug of war with Molly.

"She's getting bored," Jim said when he saw his daughter and son in law.

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said as Eliza rushed over to them.

"How long until the dance class Mommy?" the little girl asked.

"You have another hour and a half," Castle commented, answering as he was looking at his watch.

"Mommy?" Eliza asked.

"Yes?" Beckett replied, looking down at her.

"Can I spend the night at Dani's house?" the little girl said hopefully.

"I don't think so," Beckett said as Castle looked amused at her question.

"But Mommy if she's too little to come here I can go over there," Eliza pointed out. "And I did that before too; she has a bed."

With a slight sigh Beckett gave her husband a look and then told their youngest, "Yes but that was because David and Rebecca needed to take care of you. Second it is still a school night tonight, so we need to stop the sleepovers for a while. Another night we'll see if they're okay with that idea but for now we'll-"

"Her birthday!" Eliza exclaimed. She looked up at her mother and then smiled saying, "Sorry Mommy but her birthday is gonna be soon."

"We'll tell David and Rebecca but it's up to them if you'll spend the night," Castle said.

"For now, stay here with us," Beckett told her with a smile. "We were thinking would you like to go outside for a little bit?"

"Oh… yes," Eliza said, trying not to sound too eager but forgetting by the time she spoke the second word.

"Then let's get you bundled up," Castle said, holding his hand out to her.

"Katie-" Jim began to say as the two left the room.

"I'll be fine Dad," Beckett interrupted him with a slight smile. "I'm not going to run around."

"Did Richard say the same?" Jim asked, feeling a little bad for nearly bothering her again about that.

"No, I stopped him too," Beckett answered. She then said, "And again Mom told me that you did this with her, so I understand. Just remember Rick is looking out for me too."

"Your mother wouldn't be surprised I'm still doing that," Jim said as he followed her over to the door to the backyard where Castle and Eliza were waiting for them.

"I don't think she would," Beckett said, squeezing his hand.

"She wouldn't," Eliza said suddenly. When everyone looked at her she beamed at them and told them, "She said, I could hear her. But she said, 'Tell your grandpapa not to keep doing that but he still will.'"

Beckett glanced at her father when he breathed out hard and she said, "That does sound like her. Well… I guess you can try Dad."

"I will," Jim said before he felt Eliza tugging on his hand and he looked down at her to see what was wrong.

"Are you gonna come with us outside?" the little girl asked him.

"I think I'll stay in," Jim replied. "Have a great time outside but listen to your parents."

"Grandmama says I should too," Eliza said with a soft giggle.

"Why is she talking to you?" Castle asked.

"'Cause Jules is in school right now," Eliza said in a matter of fact tone. She smiled again and said, "But Grandmama says she'll let me go so I can play outside with you Daddy."

"And not me?" Beckett asked, biting her lower lip as she realized that was something her mother would have said.

"Well…" Eliza began.

"Come on," Castle said, not surprised to see his wife looked uneasy. "We better go now before we lose all our time to play."

Nodding her head Eliza took her father's hand so they could go outside, Beckett following them. She looked out at the snow and asked her parents, "What can we do?"

"How about a snowman?" Castle asked.

"Kay," Eliza said happily.

"I'll be back," Beckett told her husband when he looked back at her.

When her mother was inside the house Eliza asked her father while they were stepping down to the snow, "Did you get everything with your stories?"

"We took care of the first one," Castle said. "But just the idea for it."

"Am I gonna be in it?" Eliza asked with a smile up at him.

"Not yet," Castle said. "But I'm sure eventually you'll be there." He paused and then said, "We'll have to think of a name for you in the book."

"How come you don't make up different names?" Eliza asked him as he was beginning to pack up some snow.

"Well… I think because this was who we were before we want to make it as close to us as we can," Castle explained. "So that means our names."

"Oh… cool," Eliza said before she helped him with the snow for the bottom of the snowman.

Stepping outside Beckett said, "Looks like you guys don't even need me to help," as they nearly had the middle section ready.

"Yes we do!" Eliza exclaimed in protest.

"We do," Castle said in amusement as the little girl was looking at him. "So Kate if you would be so kind as to be our decorator…"

"Hurry and finish love," Beckett said in amusement before she watched the two finishing the head. As she was doing that something came to her and she inquired, "Did she ask about our planning?"

"Of course," Castle replied. "And she asked about herself in the story."

"Oh, that's not a surprise either," Beckett said, smiling slightly. "You'll be there soon sweetie."

"I know, Daddy told me," Eliza replied before they watched Castle setting the head on the top of the snowman.

Stepping forward Beckett waited for her husband to grab some rocks before she took them to set them as the eyes. She was about to put the carrot under them before she looked over at Eliza who'd jogged back to the house where there had been flowers when it was warmer.

"For his mouth," the little girl explained as she picked out some smaller rocks from the dirt she dug out under the snow.

"Good idea," Castle said. "It would have been really creepy if we'd left him without a wife." He paused then and looked at his wife and daughter saying, "I guess what I'm trying to say is I'd like us to make a wife for him."

"I'll have to get more carrots," Beckett said as Eliza's face lit up and she already knew what her daughter wanted. "Since it looks like we're making kids for them too."

"Think we have time for four?" Castle asked.

"And doggies?" Eliza said.

"I don't think we have enough snow for that," Beckett said. "But the kids I think we can manage."

"Are you gonna go in?" Eliza asked.

"No, I can knock on the window," Beckett replied. "Your grandpapa is right there." She stepped over to the window to the parlor as her father was in that room, knocking on it to get his attention. When he went around to the door she told him, "Can you grab me five carrots?"

"Sure… do you think it's alright for her to be out there for that long?" Jim asked.

"We'll make smaller kids," Beckett assured him with a smile before he closed the door and she waited there for him, turning her attention to Castle and Eliza who were working on the second snowman.

"Should I get more rocks Daddy?" Eliza asked her father.

"Go ahead," Castle said, stopping himself from grabbing more snow to make the head of the second snowman. While he kept his eye on her he went to the bottom of the stairs where Beckett was taking the carrots from her father. "How're you doing?"

"Good," she answered with a smile. "It's cold but I'll walk around."

"So is Eliza," Castle said, looking over at their daughter who was coming over to them.

"Did you go to pick rocks?" Beckett asked. When the little girl nodded she smiled and asked, "Are they in your pocket?"

"Yes," Eliza said in a sheepish tone, smiling at them.

"Take them out and put them in front of the first snowman," Castle said before they went down to the figures though not all were finished. He made sure Eliza got the rocks out of her pocket before he began to make the head for the second snowman. He was slightly surprised when the little girl wasn't making him let her help him but once he had the head set on top he watched as she stepped over to her mother.

With a smile Beckett said, "Can you help me?"

"Yep, I'll get the rocks for you," Eliza said with a nod of her head. She went to where she'd placed them and grabbed two larger ones for the eyes. She grabbed the little ones for her mother once the carrot was in place for the nose and she smiled at the finished figure before she said, "Daddy can me and Mommy walk?"

"Sure," Castle said, trying not to smile too widely as he guessed that she'd heard them talking while she'd gotten the rocks.

"But the rest-" Beckett started to say.

"I can finish, I'm not going to make them that big, so you know," Castle interrupted her.

"Alright," Beckett said as Eliza slipped her hand into hers before they started to walk down the yard together towards the beach. "How are you sweetie?" she asked her daughter.

"I'm good," Eliza said, smiling widely at her. "But are you?"

"Oh, I am," Beckett was quick to assure her. "Very happy that the case is over."

"Now you can be excited for the baby!" Eliza said.

"I was already," Beckett told her. "And I still am. But you're right, now we have that to look forward to."

"Daddy too," Eliza said with a smile.

"Him too," Beckett said, a smile on her face as well. She squeezed her daughter's hand and said, "Did your daddy tell you the story I thought of."

"You didn't think of it," Castle called to them as they were nearing them. "It was an actual story Eliza."

"Oh, what was it?" Eliza asked eagerly.

With a slight smile on her face at first Beckett then told the little girl about what she'd seen and looked at her husband as she was doing that. "Now as for that restaurant…"

"I don't know it kind of sounds like the one we went to with May and Luke but any idea when that was opened?" Castle asked.

"No clue," Beckett said with a shrug. "But I'm sure there was something there; to be honest I kind of just jumped to the inside of it in my memory."

"Then it could be in a completely different place," Castle said.

"Maybe," Beckett said before she looked on with Eliza as he finished the last snowman. "They look nice."

"Yeah, they're us," the little girl said with a wide smile for her father. She then studied him and said, "Do you remember anything?"

"Not at the moment," Castle said. He had remembered something, but it hadn't come to him that fully yet and he'd told his wife he'd tell her about it later as he wanted the chance to recall more. "But first your sister needs to hear about the story herself, can't leave her in the dark."

Smiling again Eliza asked her parents; while they went up the stairs to the house after Castle had taken a picture of the snowmen with his phone; "Are we gonna talk to 'lexis today?"

"I think we might need to hold on," Castle said. They entered the house by then and once they had something came to him and he said to his wife, "Kate?"

"Yes Rick?" Beckett asked with a smile as his voice was so absent.

"Remember how you said you wore that outfit to our dinner?" Castle replied. When she nodded he then said, "What if we did that for Halloween this year?"

Beckett opened her mouth to say no when her father appeared then with them and he asked, "What outfit?"

"Do you mind needing to tell the story a fourth time later?" Castle asked his wife.

"No, but Dad let's wait until we're sitting in the family room before I explain," Beckett said. After they had their outer layers off they went together over to the room and once they were sitting she then began to tell her father the same story she'd told her husband and their daughter, watching him closely as she didn't stop until the point where her memory; though she cringed to call it that; stopped.

"So…" Jim began. "What do you think about this Katie?"

"I don't know," Beckett told him honestly. "I'm not making it up in my head but the fact that what's coming to me isn't from what Rick has told me."

"Well…" Jim began before he became thoughtful. "Then I suppose it's unexplainable."

" _X-Files_?" Eliza asked.

"How does she-" Jim started to say, startled.

"She's seen the picture of it when we've gone onto Netflix," Castle explained. "And we told her about the show."

"I'm gonna watch it too," Eliza said. "When I'm a big girl."

"And Julia?" Jim asked his daughter and son in law.

"We'll let her watch it when she's older too," Beckett answered.

"A little bit longer since of course she's not at the recommended age," Castle added.

"What about the costume Daddy?" Eliza asked.

"I wore an outfit in the… dream Rick had," Beckett said, addressing that to her father as she knew Eliza would be listening. "It was a…"

"Driving outfit from the twenties of course," Castle took over. "Blouse, skirt and blazer in white with a dark blue and white striped tie and a dark blue cloak over that. Oh and a cloche."

"What's that?" Eliza asked immediately in confusion.

"A hat with a longer brim than a baseball cap," Castle said.

"Oh… I saw that before," Eliza said knowingly.

"What?" Castle and Beckett asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Eliza told them before she got up and hurried over to where she and her sister kept their coloring books. She looked for the cover that she remembered her sister showing her and once she'd found it she then took it over to her mother. "It's there Mommy," she told her.

Taking the book; and startled she'd forgotten her daughter had the coloring book with fashions from that time period; Beckett opened it and then paused at the third page. She glanced pointedly at her husband as there were two women in under garments from the decade and one of them was labeled as a cami-knicker. At his quick nod she then turned the page, wondering what exactly Eliza had seen as she'd reached the halfway point. But closer towards the end she paused, seeing the outfit she had seen in her head and her husband had first described to her on the page with another driving outfit.

"I've never seen it before," Castle told his wife quickly when she looked over at him.

"Neither have I," Beckett said with a slight smile. "But this would help your mother if you want her to make it."

"Would you mind?" Castle asked.

"To be honest," Beckett said, handing the coloring book over to her father and pointing which of the two outfits was the one they'd been talking about. "I wouldn't mind wearing it."

"Then I'll have to see what I can do about a suit tailored for the twenties," Castle said with a smile.

Beckett squeezed his hand and said, "Then we'll ask her the next time we see her."

"Great," Castle said with a smile. He then looked at Eliza and said, "Put the coloring book on the coffee table, we'll show your sister when we tell her- I mean your mother- tells her the story."

"Kay," Eliza said before she took the coloring book and set it down. "Now what?" she asked her parents eagerly as she turned her attention back to them.

"I think now's a good time for art," Castle said, looking at his wife.

"It is," Beckett replied, touching her stomach before she rubbed her hand over it while the baby began to kick. She turned her attention to Castle and Eliza as they were getting some items from the girls' art supplies, smiling as she quickly could discern it was to make paper mosaics. She knew he was thinking of the day they'd done that with Julia back in the city and she shook her thoughts from that to watch as Eliza was hurrying back to her, asking her to help her with her design while they began to pick out pieces of patterned paper from the table in front of them.

* * *

"Alright class, you can go," Julia's teacher said once her students were packed up for the day.

Trying not to breathe out audibly Julia grabbed her backpack and said to Peter once they were walking out of the room, "I thought we were going to be stuck forever."

"I know," he replied with a smile before they waved to Dawn who had turned back to them and was leaving. "What about your parents?"

"They'll be there," Julia said, spotting Mari at the top of the stairs with some of her friends from her class. "Go ahead, I'll go with Mari."

"See you," Peter replied with a smile since his partner usually did that.

"I'll see you tomorrow," Mari was saying then with a smile. She watched her classmates leave before she went quickly over to Julia and said, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah," the girl said with a smile. They went downstairs together, and she said slowly, "Next year."

"Yeah?" Mari asked, confused.

"We have to meet somewhere else," Julia explained.

"Oh… well we can always just meet in the quad here," Mari pointed out as they'd reached it.

"Well… I guess so," Julia said slowly.

"What's wrong?" Mari asked. She studied her friend's face and then with a little smile said, "I don't like change either but hey we'll see each other at the middle school and then the high school."

"Yeah," Julia said softly.

"I told you I want to go to Parsons," Mari then added as she realized what her friend was thinking. "You'll be at Julliard and we can… get an apartment?"

"Maybe we could stay at the loft," Julia said.

"Were you thinking about that before?" Mari asked her as they stopped in front of the high school.

"Yeah, but only if you wanted to," Julia said.

"I would," Mari replied with a smile. "But… well, I guess we have to tell our parents."

Looking out to the quad quickly Julia then said, "Why don't we keep it our secret? 'Cause who knows what happens. But let's promise that if we get into Julliard and Parsons we'll do that."

"Yeah," Mari said with a soft laugh before they nodded to each other.

"Jules!" a voice called from behind them that made the two turn swiftly.

"Mommy, Daddy," Julia said, a wide smile breaking out on her face before she rushed over to them. She threw her arms around her mother first; carefully; as soon as they had reached them and she then said, "I'm so glad you finished."

"We are too," Beckett replied. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I knew something was wrong but super fast," Julia said. "And then with Daddy but super fast too so…"

"We'll explain later," Castle said as he hugged her. "We better go before you three are late."

"Do you know what you'll be practicing today?" Jim asked after Julia embraced him quickly before they went into the high school.

"Yeah, but she might change her mind," the girl said. "Probably," she said, looking at Mari.

"Yeah, Ms. Grey likes to do that," the little girl replied with a nod.

"Then we should go and see," Beckett said before they reached the studio and the three girls rushed to change. "Brad, Lily?" she asked, startled to see the chief there with his wife and children.

"We decided to come see the class," Brad said with a smile. "And so you know we're not here to try and get you to invite us to dinner or something."

"No, he means that we're here to ask you," Lily took over with a smile. "We're taking everyone out to the _Studebaker_."

"Celebration?" Castle asked.

"For the case and our news and a belated celebration of yours," Brad explained, nodding to Beckett with a smile.

"Alright," she said with a slight laugh. "But we're buying our own dinners, right?"

"Oh no," the chief said with a smile. "We let them know there's only going to be one bill," Brad told them. "So we hope you'll go."

"We will," Beckett replied as her husband looked at her.

"Great," Brad said. "Because David and Rebecca agreed to come along."

Castle and Beckett could only nod before they were looking over at the girls who were coming out.

"We almost didn't see you," Julia said to Eve and Jacob.

"I know," Eve said. "We didn't even know we were gonna come watch."

"We're going to dinner," Jake said. "But before that you guys can come to our house until then."

"Oh, we forgot to ask," Brad said, looking at his wife with wide eyes.

"It's fine," Beckett said quickly, shaking her head as she smiled at the same time. "What about homework?"

"They'll do it as soon as they get there," Lily answered. "And then we'll let them play but you and David and Rebecca will need to pick them up."

"Okay," Castle said simply. "What time?"

"At five, it's a school night of course," Brad said. "And if you're wondering about the time she'll tell you."

Looking over at Ms. Grey as she stepped out Castle took his wife's hand and squeezed it as he had a feeling what the woman would say as she started to speak to her students.

"Class I have some very exciting news," Grey told them. "You remember Skye and Mary who danced the Flamenco in our class before?" When her students nodded; Julia looking at her sister in confusion; she continued saying, "I got a call that Skye is going to be on _Dancing With the Stars_ later this year." She had to pause as her students were exclaiming at the news and when they stopped she said, "The show contacted me, and they may need our class to dance a few times on it."

At the outright gasps Beckett looked at her husband; as she had thought another competition would be announced then; before they looked back at the teacher who was calming the students.

"Now I know some of you wouldn't want to be on TV but those that do I will send letters to your parents," Grey told them.

"What about Julia and Peter?" one of the girls in the class asked.

"Well Skye has asked they be there to watch their practice," Grey said.

Julia and Peter looked at each other, blanching, before they reluctantly looked at the others.

"I hope you won't mind," Grey was telling them. "Because Skye said she would have had you all coming in to watch her dance with her partner, but she could only take Julia and Peter as she would like Julia to help."

"And what about me?" Peter asked in confusion.

"To help her too," Grey said. She smiled at the numerous expressions of bemusement and then said, "That's what I was told."

"Does she know who her partner is yet?" another student asked.

"No but because of that I'm letting you all know that we won't be having practice today because I need to think of some choreography for dances they asked you all to do at the show if they need you," Grey said. "So I'll be doing that, and I will have the letters ready for you tomorrow. Have a wonderful Wednesday and let your parents know so the letter won't shock them."

"Why did they get changed if she was going to say that?" Brad commented.

"I have no clue," Beckett said. "You know we're driving our daughters and Mari, right?"

"We figured, it's a little cold for a long walk," Lily said with a smile before she stood with her friend and they stepped a little away from the others. "How're you doing?"

"Fine," Beckett replied. "And you?"

"Good because Brad's taking the next week off," Lily replied.

"They pushed him to?" Beckett asked with a smile, looking over at their husbands who were talking together.

"They did but he took it," Lily said before she started to speak and then paused.

"Where are you going?" Beckett asked.

"Just for the weekend; until Monday afternoon; to the B&B you guys like," Lily answered, her cheeks slightly flushed.

"I don't blame you," Beckett said. "Do you want us to take them?"

"If you don't mind taking Jake," Lily replied.

"No, he can take one of the guest bedrooms," Beckett said. Before her friend could respond to that though they looked at the changing rooms, seeing the kids were beginning to come out. She went over to her husband and stood with him, waiting for Julia, Eliza and Mari to appear.

"Did you know about that already?" a fellow dancer was asking Julia.

"My parents told me," she said, nodding her head. "But I didn't think we'd be dancing."

"I hope we do!" another girl exclaimed.

"We know Julia will," another commented.

"That's just because her parents are friends with Skye already," Mari said, quickly coming to her friend's defense.

"And you will probably go," the same girl said.

"Come on," Julia said then, starting to get scared the girls were getting mad at her. "We can go." She took her little sister's hand and pulled her out with Mari following them. She was startled when Eve and Jacob were just outside the doors and she asked, "What's wrong?"

"We can go now," Eve said with a smile at her brother. "And play."

"Oh yeah," Julia said before she paused and frowned before her mother was walking over to her.

"We'll bring you some clothes when we pick you up," Beckett told her daughter. "If you don't mind wearing your uniform for now."

Shaking her head Julia hugged her and said, "Thanks."

"You're welcome but we're dropping you off, so you don't need to say goodbye just yet," Beckett told her before Castle came over and picked up Eliza. She took Julia's hand and with Mari following they went out to their car and she said, "I will say this now though," when they were close. "Behave over there; Mari I'm saying that for your parents."

"Believe us when we say we know they'd say that," Castle said, widening his eyes.

"I know," Mari said with a soft laugh.

"And we'll be good," Julia told them as they stopped.

"Very," Eliza added hurriedly.

Beckett laughed and then hugged them since she and Castle wouldn't be getting out of the car. She then watched her husband do the same before her father walked over to them once he'd said goodbye to Lily and Brad.

"I'll head straight back to the house," Jim told his daughter. "Will you do the same?"

"I think so," Beckett said. She then smiled and told her father, "To be honest we could be drawn in to talk with them, but we'll see."

"Ready?" Castle asked his wife once her father had gone over to his car.

"Let's go," Beckett said simply before she got into the passenger seat. She glanced back at the girls as they left the parking lot of the school, not surprised they were talking about what they would do with Eve and Jacob at the house. Since that house wasn't too far from the school her husband was pulling down the driveway after Brad's car. "Leave your backpacks," she told Julia and Mari. "Mari we'll give yours to your parents when we go to dinner."

"Thanks," the little girl said before she got out of the car with Julia and Eliza after the latter was out of her car seat.

"Don't run out here but feel free to do that in the house," Castle said to them.

"Rick!" Beckett said.

"We'll be okay," Julia said with a wide smile. "Bye."

"Bye Mommy, Daddy, see you later," Eliza called out before she was going with her friend and sister over to the front door where their friends were waiting for them.

"Wow, either Brad's feeling really unsociable or he was racing to get Lily inside," Castle said jokingly as the garage closed immediately after the chief's car.

"I think he wanted to get her inside," Beckett said in amusement as he turned around and left to go back to their home not realizing Julia had been watching them as they went.

"Hey," Mari said, standing behind her friend. "Brad yelled at Eve to close the door."

"Oh, sorry," Julia said, realizing that she was letting the cold into the house. "I was just watching my parents go."

"How come?" Mari asked as they walked through the entry and over to the stairs.

"Just 'cause," Julia replied. She paused before they started to go up and she then said, "I want to ask Brad something."

"Okay," Mari said, going with her as she turned around.

Julia slowed down when she got to the kitchen where Lily and Brad were and then stopped when the two looked at her. "Um… I was wondering something Brad," she said.

"Alright but you know if it has to do with the case I might not be able to answer," the chief replied. "Or I will but I'll have to ask your parents."

Thinking over if she still wanted to try and ask Julia finally pushed ahead and said, "Was my daddy hurt at all today?"

"Oh," Brad said.

Julia shared a look with Mari; who she quickly saw was frowning too; and they turned back to the couple.

"I don't think she's buying it honey," Lily told her husband, smiling at their expressions.

"I didn't think so," Brad said. He sighed and then said, "I didn't see this, but your father was taken by our suspect for a while… after your mother was and she had to go after him."

"She got him free?" Mari asked.

Shaking his head Brad said, "We both did because I reached them in time."

"Oh… but he wasn't hurt?" Julia asked.

"Not a scratch," Brad promised her. "Though I'm sure you were able to tell."

"You two should go play," Lily said gently then. "You're losing time."

"Thanks for telling me," Julia told Brad before she took Mari's hand and together they went as quickly as they could to the stairs and started up to Eve's room where they guessed the others would be.

"Hey, where'd you guys go?" Eve asked as the two came into her room.

"Why are you by yourself?" Julia asked as her sister wasn't there.

"You can't answer a question with a question!" Eve pretended to say indignantly. She smiled and told her, "Jake took Eliza over to his room; to play a video game."

"We could have played with her," Julia said indignantly herself. "I guess she likes the racing ones he has."

"You don't have any?" Eve asked as Julia went over to her desk to look at what she had on there.

"My dad does but I don't like them, and you know my mom doesn't like us playing that much video games anyways," the girl replied. "So what are we gonna do?" Julia asked the two.

"Well, we could play out in the snow," Eve said, shrugging her shoulders. "Or play a game."

"I like going outside more," Mari said.

"You just said that 'cause you still have your coats on," Eve told her teasingly.

Looking down at her deep blue coat Julia frowned and then asked Mari, "How come Brad and Lily didn't tell us to take them off?"

"I asked if we could go outside," Eve then told the two.

With a smile Mari said, "Good that means we can go?"

"Yeah, I asked Jake and Eliza but she said she played outside already and she wanted to stay in," Eve explained.

"And Jake does too?" Julia asked as they walked to the door.

"He got a snowball in his face at lunch so he had enough," Eve said.

"Are we gonna do that too?" Mari asked as they headed down the stairs.

"I would ask you guys hold off on any snowball fights," Brad said, standing at the bottom of the stairs. He smiled at the three and said, "You can sled though but please use the shallower hill Evie."

"I will Dad," the girl said, squeezing her father quickly.

"Jake, Eliza," Brad then called up as his daughter was getting her coat. "Come on downstairs and play alright? Your mom wants to keep an eye on you Jake."

"Oh Brad," Lily said with a sigh, going over to her husband.

"Alright I do," he quickly corrected.

"Dad, we were racing and you made me crash," Jacob said as he and Eliza appeared at the top of the stairs.

"I didn't win," the little girl reminded him.

"You two don't want to play outside with them?" Lily asked her son.

"Well…" Jacob began, watching the three who were bundled up for the outdoors.

"I do, where's my coat?" Eliza asked.

Laughing as he went to get it Brad told the little girl, "You sounded a heck of a lot like your dad just then."

"Yeah?" Eliza said as she peered up at him with a smile on her face.

"Definitely," Brad said as he nodded his head. "Still sled you guys."

"Or make snowmen or snow angels but when we say come inside…" Lily began.

"We come inside," Jacob and Eve answered automatically. They looked at their friends and smiled before they went laughingly out as he bundled up quickly himself.

"I love your backyard," Julia said once they were standing together there.

"We got lucky… couldn't you sled down to the beach?" Jacob asked.

"Yeah but our mom doesn't let us do that too much," Julia said, her sister nodding in agreement with her next to her. She then smiled and told the two, "But we've made snow hills before."

"We did that too," Eve said before she and her brother led the way over to the shed where their sleds were. "But I know our mom and dad are watching-"

"And if we make a hill," Jacob interrupted his sister before smiling at her.

"Then we'll have to go back inside," Eve finished, giving a mock glare to her brother.

"We'll still have fun now," Eliza was quick to say as she, Mari and Julia were following the two.

"We know, we just wish we could make a huge hill," Jacob said.

"That was so fun," Eve said with a laugh.

"Your dad made it?" Eliza asked.

"No, our mom," Jacob answered. He smiled and then told the two; as they looked startled; "She wanted to try to reach one side of the yard to the other."  
"And we did," Eve said too as she pulled her sled out. "But Dad was shocked, and she told him it was just one time. Come on, let's go to the side; they won't have a cow if we go on that," she added before they all started to laugh and went together to where the yard was slightly inclined.

"Are we gonna go two by two?" Julia asked.

"Yeah, who's gonna take Eliza?" Jacob asked his sister.

"You don't want to?" Eve replied.

"I don't care," Eliza said in a rush as she looked over at the incline impatiently.

"Then we should be first," Jacob commented.

"Oh, you just did that so you could go first," Eve protested.

"It's okay," Julia said, touching her arm. "You can take Mari first."

"You don't care?" Eve asked.

"Nope," Julia replied. "I went sledding here already; she hasn't."

"Thanks," Mari said, hugging her friend tightly.

"Welcome," Julia said, feeling her cheeks were slightly warm. She then turned her attention to her sister and Jacob who were going down on their sled. She laughed with the two as Eliza was squealing the entire way down until the boy turned the sled and they spilled out slightly.

"That was fun," the little girl told Jacob with a heavy giggle.

"Yeah, if we were on a bigger hill it would be sick," the boy replied as he stood up. "Come on, we gotta get out of the way for them," he told her, taking her hand.

"How come you didn't go?" Eliza asked her sister when they'd gotten over to her.

"I told Eve I already came here before to do this," Julia said, shrugging her shoulders. She put her arm around her sister's shoulders and said, "How was Mommy when you were with her?"

"Good, she's happy the case is over," Eliza said before they looked over at Jacob.

"Dad's taking time off," the boy replied quickly. "So our mom's happy too. Really happy. But," he said, making a brief face. "We have to go to school still."

"Only for two more days," Julia commented. "But yeah, that sucks." She thought of something and said, "Are your parents going to go to that ball next month?"

"Yeah," Eve said as she and Mari walked over to them. "We went already," she said with a smile as they looked taken aback to see them there. "But Mom said she's gotta get a new dress since the one she had picked out from before doesn't fit now."

"Weird that your body does that when you have a kid," Jacob said.

"Why are you looking at me?" Eve asked.

Shrugging Jacob then said to her, "Just 'cause Mom's not here. But hey," turning to Julia. "You might get to dance on TV," he told her.

"Maybe," the girl replied, cheeks flushed again as she thought about that. "I think Skye wants me and Peter to be in the team dance but who knows if she makes it that far."

"Who do you want to be her partner?" Jacob asked her.

"Um… I don't know," Julia said. "Whoever I guess."

"She doesn't like anyone but Derek, but he left," Eliza pointed out to them.

"Yeah, so whoever," Julia added. "Come on Mari, come down the hill with me," she told her friend, taking her hand and pulling her over to it. As she and Mari got ready at the top of the incline she said, "Do you ever wonder what your parents are doing?"

"All the time but I know this time," Mari replied with a smile. "They're working on one more case before they stop for a little bit." She then studied her friend and asked, "Do you?"

"No… I hope they're taking a break though," Julia said after thinking about that. She then smiled and said, "But I bet my dad's making my mom do that. Let's go." And with that she and Mari got onto the sled and she pushed them down, hoping that she was right and her parents were relaxing after what had happened at the end of their case. She soon forgot that though as she cried out heavily in joy with her friend while they slid down the snow, listening to Eliza, Eve and Jacob cheer them on as they watched.

* * *

"Are you awake now?"

"I never fell asleep."

"Are you sure? It sounded like you were snoring not too long-ouch," Castle grunted as his wife nudged him in the side with her elbow though not that hard. He turned onto his side, watching her moving to accommodate that as she'd been on her own side. "Okay now?"

"Don't bring that up later," Beckett breathed out in a soft huff though she was smiling slightly as she looked up at the ceiling for a moment.

"I wasn't," Castle said. "You said you wanted to rest."

"I do," Beckett said. "But I can't help feel a little embarrassed still." When her husband brushed his lips against her forehead she smiled and told him, "I know it's essentially out of my control, but it seems to be stronger than when I was pregnant with Eliza."

"I noticed," Castle replied as his wife had dragged him up to their room as soon as her father had gone for a walk in the neighborhood once they'd met him back at the house. "But what would you have done if your father had stayed?"

"I don't want to think about that," Beckett said seriously. She then looked at her husband and turned to him saying, "I enjoyed that."

"So did I," Castle replied, not surprised she changed the subject. "Will that be enough for you into tomorrow?"

"Who said we're finished?" Beckett asked, raising her head and eyebrow as well.

"Oh, that sounds nice," Castle said.

Beckett laughed softly at his tone and then leaned down, capturing his lips with her own before he gently rolled her onto her back. She allowed him that; since she'd directed things when they'd reached their room; and after they'd parted from their kiss she studied his face and said, "You want to do the same thing?"

"Slightly different," Castle replied, not surprised when she looked confused for a moment before a look of realization appeared on her face.

"You looked at the time?" Beckett asked him. When he nodded she was startled when he then moved around to lay next to her but when he slid his arm underneath her she smiled and said, "Now I know what you mean by different."

Castle nodded his head and then reached up with his right hand that he'd left free to gently cup her right breast. As she breathed in deeply he leaned over, kissing her temple before he said, "This will likely be slower than-"

"It can be a little quicker if I can join in," Beckett said though she was already doing so and using her fingers along with his to rub at her clit. Though she knew she should have been startled at the fact she was starting to feel pleasure already she couldn't think about that as she moaned heavily and began to writhe slightly against her husband.

Though he'd had in mind to try and change things slightly for his wife Castle found that he couldn't stop, and he was remaining where he was. But after a while he began to slip his fingers lower on her, gently fingering her folds before he moved back up. Once he'd done that twice he began to kiss her and they were soon tangling their tongues together hungrily before they slowly and carefully parted. "Are you going to come?" he asked her, looking into her eyes deeply.

Beckett nodded and wasn't surprised when her husband whispered into her ear and she smiled before saying, "Is it what you want?"

"What I need," Castle replied. "I'll be…" he began before his wife pulled him on top of her. He shifted slightly and then was slipping within her sex as she'd guided him, and he didn't stop until he was fully within her. Breathing out heavily he said, "Is this what you want?" as he guessed already what she wanted.

"Please," Beckett moaned out loud before he began to thrust. She'd been throbbing before when he'd stopped pleasuring her and the second he started to move gently she couldn't stop herself. "Oh… Rick… please!" she cried out in her joy as she held onto him tightly, moving against his body.

Castle, clenching his teeth together in his pleasure, did his best to last just a bit longer than his wife had but it was no use as he'd been holding back while he'd touched her. He groaned her name loudly before he began to chant it as his orgasm continued for a little longer past hers. When he gave her a last, rough, thrust he held himself up on his hands and said, "I'm not sure what made me do that."

"I wanted it too," Beckett said quickly as she ran her hands up and down his arms. "But we have to stop."

"Yeah," Castle said reluctantly. He pulled away from her and sat up as he watched her push herself up before he said, "Should we take a shower?"

"Yes, but we need to make it quick," Beckett said as she looked pointedly at him.

Castle smiled before he leaned over to her, kissing her tenderly on the lips, and then said, "I'll be on my best behavior." When she gave him a look he laughed and then pulled her onto his lap before they kissed again but much deeper before he began to run his hands around her. They strayed naturally to her abdomen and he froze with her when the baby kicked suddenly, near his hand. When he pulled away he said, "Think she's telling us to stop?"

"Probably," Beckett said in amusement before he let her go. She got off him and went to the bathroom, knowing he was following her as she went to the shower.

"Let me," Castle said, stopping her as she opened the door. He stepped inside slightly to turn on the water and as soon as it was running he stepped aside for her to go in first. The second he was with her with the door closed behind them he had her gathered in his arms as he said, "You didn't say I couldn't do this."

"No," Beckett replied with a smile before she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly. They kissed passionately for a moment before they slowly parted and she murmured against his lips, "Thank you."

"I was happy to help you," Castle told her seriously. "And feel free to ask if you need my help again," he added.

"Pervert," Beckett told him, a smile on her face before they kissed once more. After they'd slowly parted she then went to the water and stood underneath it, not surprised when her husband was swift to join her and start running his hands over her. She allowed him that before doing the same to him and she had no idea how they ended up finishing their shower before he turned the water off. "I'm impressed," she told him with a smile.

Glancing back at her questioningly Castle quickly reached for her towel so he could bring it back to her and dry her off. "That's all you're going to say?" he asked. "You're just impressed?"

Smiling Beckett told him, "We didn't kiss once when we got under the water."

Castle was tempted to do that to her, but he continued to dry himself off as he knew already his wife would point out they didn't have enough time after joining one another on their bed. He finished and wrapped his towel around his waist before taking her hand. "I'll make up for that later tonight," he told her at the closet.

"I thought you might," Beckett said in amusement. She leaned over and kissed him gently on the cheek before she turned her attention to her clothes. She dressed quickly, feeling the baby moving as she was finishing and she told her husband, "I think she was telling us to stop."

"We were moving around too much for her," Castle said with a smile on his face as he quickly went to her, placing his hand on her abdomen. He then moved to wrap that arm around her before he leaned down and they kissed tenderly before they slowly pulled away from one another. "I-" he started to say before there was a knock on the door.

"My dad," Beckett said. "I wonder if he just got back," she said in slight concern as she followed him to the door.

Castle didn't reply as he was reaching the door and he said, "Hello again, did you get back just now?"

"I did, I was talking to your neighbor, Dr. Carter," Jim replied, smiling at his daughter when he saw her.

"Which?" Beckett asked as she and her husband stepped out into the hallway.

"He told me to let you know he was glad you two were alright," Jim answered.

"I… how did he find out that quick… I forgot he and Autumn had a baby due," Castle began, looking at his wife and recalling there was a reason the two would be at the hospital that day.

"So did I," Beckett said with a smile. "Did you ask him about it?"

"A boy and girl," Jim said. When they looked startled he smiled slightly and told them, "The girl was a surprise but she was fine; they all are. And they've named them Howard and Hattie; short for Hatshepsut."

"Not surprised about the girl's name," Beckett commented as they began to make their way downstairs. She smiled and then said, "We'll have to send them something."

"And see the babies," Castle said with a nod. "I want to say something Egyptian, but could we get it this soon?"

"We'll see," Beckett said simply, shaking her head at him though she was smiling. She looked at Macca and Molly who were drinking water in the kitchen and said, "Did the dogs greet you?"

"They did," Jim said. "I think they ducked in the family room except for them."

Beckett went over to the room, seeing he was right, and she then looked at her watch she'd forgotten to check before that point. She then glanced at her husband and told him, "It's almost time."

"How long do we have?" Castle replied before he checked his own watch. "Not much; what were you thinking of doing?"

"Well… I guess we could start feeding them since we might be back a little later," Beckett said.

"Are we going anywhere besides the restaurant?" Castle asked though he was leading the way to the garage.

"Not that I know," Beckett said. "Dad-" she began as she looked at him.

"I'll help, you have six dogs," Jim said quickly.

Beckett smiled and then shook her head before they began helping her husband with the dogs' food. By the time they'd finished she let Castle take her over to the entry where they began taking their coats. "What do you think they did?" she asked him as they got their scarves.

"If I know our kids, and I think I do," Castle said. "Then they probably went outside. Especially since their backyard there has that incline."

"Sledding?" Jim asked.

"And snowmen," Beckett added with a smile. "Let's go, we have… a number of months now I think we should focus on them before we need to turn that to the baby."

"You're hating that aren't you?" Castle asked knowingly before he opened the door to the garage.

"Yes, but luckily our girls understand," Beckett replied. "And we won't ignore them completely of course."

As his wife had said the words our girls pointedly Castle took her hand quickly and said, "And I'm eager to see them too," before they went together to their car as her father got into his next to them. He drove first out of the garage and he reached over for his wife's hand, squeezing it tightly as he made his way over to the Davises so they could see their daughters once again.


	24. Haunts Me Like The Sound Of The Rain

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Great receiving the feedback for the last chapter so I will get right into my thank yous for that! MsNYC (I wasn't surprised to see that you thought the agents might have been working together, so I suppose to see it was just one of them that was the bomber was a surprise for you. And I also wasn't surprised that you think that Beckett does believe Castle's recalling their past life. But since it is Beckett you're very, very correct that she's still a bit skeptical, lol. And really happy you enjoyed that flashback! So DWTS isn't next just yet; if that's what you meant, lol, and if I'm reading that correctly; that'll be the fall season. But it is nice to see that you're so happy that it'll be fun for Julia and Peter there. And I'm really happy that you can't wait to see Skye again. Speaking of her I wasn't surprised at all that you're wondering what was going on with the conversation between her and Beckett. And I got what you were saying, and it's not so much the line went dead but Skye had to go. But don't worry, you will get some answers to all your questions that I can't really answer here without giving it away before you get the chance to read it, lol. And of course happy to see you thought it was great writing as usual!),

TORONTOSUN (I was so happy to see that you thought it was very good writing in the first half. And pleased too that in the second half you thought it was good writing for everyone!),

Mb (I'm not surprised that you figured out the twist, lol, with Coupe being the bomber in the end, lol. I'm glad that you thought the bit with Julia at school while she was with her friends. I wasn't surprised that you loved that everyone was excited for the book they're planning on writing about their past lives in the 20's. And I also wasn't surprised that you thought it was so good that Beckett was already having flashbacks of their past life and knowing deep down in her heart and soul as you put it that they're true. Really happy that you thought it was a sweet first Christmas they had in their past life. And with your question about Castle's character in their past lives book being an orphan, I wanted to make it different from the Nikki Heat books and then different from their Moor/Green books as in the latter I have both their parents alive there though I haven't had a chance to fit that in yet. So I'll have his character there an orphan since I do want to bring in the earthquake for the background story… if that makes sense, lol. And don't worry, it wasn't long winded, but I can understand you'd need a break after all that shoveling. But hopefully it is melting for you! Great you thought the first half was a fantastic update. And you're very welcome for the first half of the chapter! Happy to see you thought the second half was a sweet update. I'm not surprised you love that Skye and Mary invited Julia's dance class to participate on DWTS when Skye's on it. Not surprised you were wondering if some of the kids in the class were getting jealous of her and Peter being asked to dance since her parents are friends with Skye and Mary. But you are right that they were asked to dance because of their talent. Great you love that I show them coming together to celebrate both the case and everyone okay after that, and the two new babies that will be arriving soon. And that's why I write them doing that, to show that they don't have to be family by blood, but deep friendships form a bond of family as you put it. Nice to see you thought the second half was a fantastic update too. And you're very welcome for sharing this second half of the chapter too!) and

vetgirlmx (Really pleased to see you thought the last chapter was very, very nice. And I am glad that I was able to fool you with the actual bomber and that you enjoyed the twist a lot, oh, also that you thought that was well done. And I think you were right, lol, they were both too late and both were hostages, lol, doesn't matter the amount of time, lol. Great you loved when Brad and Beckett shot Coupe at the same time, I thought he deserved it myself after all the bombings, so I wasn't surprised that you were hoping he'd get hurt. Oh, and I'm glad that you thought it looked cool in your mind. I'm so, so happy that you loved the flashback from their past lives and that you think it's a nice way to continue with that. And of course great you enjoy that story too, lol. I wasn't really surprised that you were about how nonchalant Eliza was when she mentioned what her grandmother was saying. And I figured after the surprise that morning with Johana it wouldn't be so big of a deal, though also not surprised you said you would've freaked out about that. I'm not surprised you forgot about the invitation for Julia and Peter to go to DWTS with Skye though yeah, the rest of the class being invited is new, lol. Great that you're waiting for that to happen and that you're eager to see what else happens next, since of course you want to read more, and now you don't need to wait for that anymore!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading every one of them as usual and I'm very grateful for the time taken to write them out and sense them my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Looking at Her_ by Paul McCartney, from his album _New_.

Haunts Me Like The Sound Of The Rain

"Girls," Lily said as she walked into the living room where her daughter was with her friends. "Well you three," she directed to the oldest. "You were supposed to do homework before we let you play."

Sharing a smile with Julia and Mari, Eve said, "I didn't have any."

"I just have some reading," Mari said then.

"I didn't have any either," Julia added.

"Me neither," Eliza piped up.

Smiling at the little girl Lily said, "You should have told us, and tell your parents too."

"Are they warm?" Eliza asked.

"I'm sure the heaters are on. Are you two ready?" Lily asked Julia and Mari since they'd been changing out of their uniforms into clothes their mothers had brought for them.

"Yeah." "Yep," Mari and then Julia said.

"Great, I'm absolutely starving," Brad said jokingly as they reached the foyer where he and Jacob were waiting.

"Are we sitting all together?" Eve asked her father.

"Yep, one very long table for all…" Brad said.

"Thirteen," Lily told her husband as she helped Eliza with her coat.

"Fifteen if you count the babies," Julia said. "But I don't think you can."

"Not really," Brad said in amusement. "Okay, go out to your cars and we'll see you," he told Mari, Julia and Eliza before they went outside and he and his family headed for the garage and their car.

"Hi Mommy!" Eliza said once she was in the backseat.

"Hey sweetie, Julia," Beckett said, adding that as her oldest came inside. "How was it?"

"Fun," Eliza said first. "We went sledding and I played with Jake and we raced and he crashed."

"Crashed?" Beckett said in surprise.

"They turned and fell onto their sides," Julia said with a smile.

"Then it sounds like you had a great day," Castle said, getting into the driver's seat quickly as he'd opened the door for them; mainly so he could hug them in greeting.

"That was just part of it," Julia commented with a wide smile. She then told her mother, "What did you and Daddy do?"

"Kiss?" Eliza asked.

"Yes," Beckett said, hoping her cheeks weren't flushed. "But we talked a little bit more about our story."

When their youngest gasped and told her sister about the story Beckett had told him and her father, Castle squeezed his wife's hand as he knew she'd said that to turn their daughters' attention from what they'd done the rest of the afternoon. He listened to her as she told the story a third time, smiling as he heard Julia gasping in different places before Beckett stopped.

"That's so cool," Julia said. "Living in San… I mean Mill Valley. But what about the bridge."

"That came later," Castle commented. "Much later… eleven years later."

"How old were we then?" Eliza asked as they were nearing the restaurant.

"Julia you were fifteen when the bridge opened," Castle began, looking at Beckett who nodded slightly. "And Eliza you were almost ten… Alexis almost nine and your littlest sister seven."

"Did we go see it?" Eliza then said as Castle was parking.

"Most likely," Beckett replied. "If we went to… we better go, they're getting out now."

Going to the back to make sure the girls were able to get out alright Castle said to Julia, "We forgot; did you do your homework?"

"I didn't have any; you guys didn't let us say. Can I go say hi to Mari?" Julia asked.

"Go but don't run," Beckett said since Castle was busy picking up Eliza. She watched Julia go to the Fosters and went to the little girl on her husband's hip, kissing her cheek. "We missed both of you sweetie," she told her before she let her daughter kiss her.

"Me too," Eliza said. "And Jules too. But I'm hungry Mommy."

"We're going right now," Castle said laughingly before they went together over to the entrance as the other two families; plus Julia and Jim who'd arrived with the Fosters; were going over to the door.

Since there were so many of them the group waited until they were seated around their table to greet the others before they began to talk.

"How come you with came with the Fosters?" Lily was asking Beckett's father.

"I wanted to leave the car for them," Jim said, nodding to his daughter and her family. "I'll be traveling back with them though."

"We just talked about the story Grandpapa," Julia commented.

When the others who didn't know what she was talking about looked at them interestedly Castle said with a slight laugh, "I think this is time number four love."

"I guess so," Beckett said. She was about to tell them the story when she had to pause as their waiters were back with them and they ordered. Once everyone was finished she related what she'd recalled; as they'd all turned to her as soon as the two men had left them with their orders. When she finished she wasn't too surprised to see they seemed to be processing what she'd related, and she waited to see who would speak first.

"So," Rebecca began. "I'm sure now you'll admit that it was inevitable you ended up with him."

"She will," Castle said. "But she's still just a tiny bit on the fence about that being real."

"How do you explain the fact-" Brad began to say before Lily was putting her hand on his arm. "Sorry," he told Beckett.

"It's alright," she said, waving her hand. "But I'm interested in hearing about the kids' days at school."

Reaching for his wife's hand Castle squeezed it for a moment as they listened to Eve; since she was the oldest; talk about her day. He wanted to tell her badly about what he had recalled himself but held back since he did want the kids to go first. Putting the memory in the back of his mind he paid attention to the kids as he found it interesting to hear what Eve and Jacob; in middle school; were learning since he knew Julia would be going to that the next school year.

Eliza was just about to start talking about her own day last when the food was served to everyone and since she was hungry still she forgot about telling them about her class that day. After her father had cleaned her mouth she said, "Daddy do you remember now?"

"Oh no, it's still coming to me," Castle said firmly. "But tell us about your day while you eat… just not while you're eating."

"I know Daddy," Eliza said, frowning at him before she smiled. She told everyone about what she and her classmates had learned before she finished with, "And then we made our family."  
"It was fun," Beckett said. "Though I wasn't allowed to help."

Lily laughed and told her friend, "I'm getting blocked from doing that too but hey at least they're doing it out of love."

"At least they are," Beckett said with a nod. "But it sounds like you had great days at school."

"Yeah but I wish we could stay with our parents," Jacob said.

"Jake," Lily said to her son simply. "Oh, honey we forgot to tell them," she then directed to her husband.

"About…?" Brad asked.

"This weekend?" Castle suggested. "And you didn't tell your kids?"

"What weekend?" Eve then said as they were all listening to the two.

"This weekend," Brad replied before he ate a bite of his chicken fried steak.

"Dad!" Eve and Jacob complained as he was chewing a little slowly.

"Sorry," Brad said. "I need to eat too you know. Anyways your mom and I are going to the B&B that Rick and Kate, oh and David and Rebecca have been to."

"Great… is Veronica going to watch us?" Jacob asked as he and his sister looked at each other.

"If you two don't mind you can go over to the Castle's," Lily told the two.

"That would be great," Eve said first.

"We're fine with it," Castle said quickly as the two Davis kids turned to him and Beckett. "The girls won't mind either."

"Where will I sleep at night?" Jacob asked slowly.

"In the guest bedrooms, whichever one you'd like," Beckett assured him. "And Eve you can stay with Julia if you'd like."

"One night," Rebecca said as her daughter looked at herself and her husband.

"Yeah, I think four kids for two nights is long enough," David added.

"It's actually three nights but we wouldn't mind her staying over for more than one," Castle said as they leaned aside for the waiters to start clearing their table as they'd finished by then.

"We'll think about it," Rebecca said with a smile as Mari looked instantly eager.

"Brad," all the adults but Lily and the man himself said as he took the bill from one of the waiters.

"Oh no, I told you all we were going to do this so suck it up," the chief said simply.

"Nice language," Lily told her husband wryly.

"Thank you," Brad replied.

"Is that it?" Jim asked as the waiter came back to take Brad's card.

"Well… we had one more thing in mind," Lily said, looking at the other adults.

"Are you going to tell us because we definitely have no idea what you're talking about," Castle said first.

"Are we going to regret taking our kids there?" David then asked.

"I'm sure as parents," Lily began. "We have some kind of authority over our kids, so we'll leave when we say it's time."

"Shouldn't we be worried about our husbands caving in?" Rebecca asked, glancing at hers.

"That's why you guys are the authority figures," Brad began.

"I think you mean you ladies," Castle commented. "But seriously, where did you want to go?"

Wait for a moment to take back his card Brad then told them all, "The family fun center."

"But just the arcade," Lily added as the kids all gasped.

"That's doable," Castle said. "But Julia, Eliza-"

"Actually, I think we should just address all the kids," David interrupted him.

"True, so all of you kids when your parents say it's time to go you go," Castle said. "And your parents, not just a parent here."

With some laughter from the kids the group got up and left the restaurant, driving out together over to the center where they met at the entrance to the arcade.

"Are we going to keep together?" Beckett asked.

"We don't necessarily need to," Lily said.

"But we might meet up of course," Rebecca said. "Since there are a lot of different things to do." She paused and then looked over at their husbands; standing near them; before she said, "Guys, you said we're authority figures, but I think you can talk."

"The kids aren't paying attention to you guys," Beckett added. "So please stop."

"We have couches in all our homes," Lily commented.

"Wait," Brad said, "We're just joking."

"We'll see you at the café?" David asked as they were going to their wives.

"Yeah, in about a half hour," Brad said before he and Lily went to get their kids.

"See you," Rebecca told Beckett.

"Have fun," she said before she turned to her husband. "You didn't talk," Beckett commented.

"So the couch for me?" Castle asked in amusement.

"I think so," Beckett said.

"Are you gonna kiss here?" Eliza asked as she and her sister rushed back to their parents when their friends had gone over to theirs.

"I think so," Beckett replied before she kissed her husband's cheek. "Not so easy to do without my heels."

"You should have told me," Castle said. "But we're wasting time a little bit so let's get your guys' card ready."

"What can we play?" Julia asked.

"I think I know already what you're going to ask to do," Beckett said as they went to the machine to recharge the card they had from previous visits.

"We can do that first?" Eliza asked.

"Of course," Castle said once he'd finished with the card. "But we take turns remember?"

"Yeah," Eliza said as she nodded her head. She took her mother's hand before they got to the game she and her sister loved to play when they were at the arcade. "Who can go first?" she asked.

"We'll go by age," Castle replied as he swiped the card. "Are you guys going to get tickets?"

"I don't think so," Julia said. "Well… maybe not yet," she said as she saw her sister was frowning.

"We'll see?" Castle suggested as he waited for the little girl to step up onto the small bowling lane.

"Yeah," Eliza told him as she took the small 'bowling ball' that the game had. She stepped forward and went to the line before she squatted and rolled the ball from between her legs, laughing as she stood back up.

"Oh nice," Beckett said with a smile as Eliza managed to get a strike and they all applauded for her.

"Maybe I should roll like that," Castle told his wife with a smile as Julia got up on the lane to go next.

"You could try but it might be a little awkward to see," Beckett said as she put her arm around Eliza who'd come to stand next to her.

" _Mhaith leat é_ ," Castle commented.

Rolling her eyes; as her husband said she'd like it; Beckett replied, " _Is maith liom leat ar bhealaí níos fearr eile_ ," before they watched Julia taking her turn.

"Nice," Castle told her as she knocked down all but two. He tried not to think of what his wife had said, about her liking him better other ways, and focused on Julia's second turn.

"Ooh," Julia said in disappointment when she got her ball in the gutter.

"You still did a good job," Beckett reassured her as she got up on the lane herself then.

"Mommy don't push it like I did," Eliza said quickly.

"I wasn't going to," Beckett said with a smile. She turned back to the end of the lane and then threw the ball carefully as she knew her husband would be watching her closely while she did that.

"Good try," Castle said as she knocked down all but two.

"Yeah, a seven ten split," Beckett said with a sigh, getting another ball. "I'd like to see me not get a gutter here."

Julia smiled as her mother ended up getting that, but she hugged her as she came to herself and her sister to get out of the way of her father. "Wait, why didn't Grandpapa come to play?" she asked as Jim had stayed at the café.

"He wanted to sit down," Beckett replied. "He took a walk for a while earlier so I'm sure he's tired."

"I wish he came," Eliza said.

"Why don't you go get him?" Castle suggested.

"Really?" Julia asked.

"You know where he is, ask because I don't know how long we can pause the game," Beckett added.

Looking at each other Julia and Eliza took each other's hand and hurried together over to the café where they saw their grandfather was sitting and looking at his phone.

Looking up at his granddaughters Jim smiled at their questioning him and said, "Are you sure you want me to play with you?"

Nodding their heads at the same time Julia then said, "We have to hurry, I don't think the game can be on pause for a long time."

"Alright," Jim said. "But you didn't have to let me."

"We want to Grandpapa," Eliza said, holding his hand as her sister was holding his other.

"Hey Dad," Beckett said when she saw her father reaching them.

"Having fun?" Jim asked as the two girls ushered him over to the lane so he could bowl next.

"We are," Beckett replied with a smile as she watched him grab a ball and then throw it down to the pins.

"I did that and so did Mommy," Julia said when he had two left. When Jim bowled again and got a gutter she laughed and said, "That too."

"I guess it runs in the family," Jim said before they watched Eliza prepare to throw.

After they'd finished the ten frames Eliza went to her grandfather and took his hand saying, "Will you stay with us?"

"Of course," Jim said. "I'm eager to see what you pick to do next."

"Rick let them pick," Beckett said to her husband as she saw him eying a game.

"Oh… fine," Castle said though he'd planned to do that in the first place. He then watched the girls race to the game next to the one he'd been looking at and he smiled saying, "Okay, I guess you guys need my help," as it was a Star Wars pod racing game.

Beckett, standing behind where her husband sat in turn with each of their daughters, smiled at her father when he placed his hand on her shoulder. "You don't mind?" she asked him.

"I'm wondering about you," Jim replied easily.

"I'm alright," Beckett said simply. "But I might need to sit down soon."

Hearing that easily Castle did his best to focus on the race he was helping Julia with at that point and as soon as they'd finished he turned to his wife. "Why don't we let your father take them?"

"Rick," Beckett said with a sigh. "I did want to stay with them."

"There are places to sit," Julia said, watching them.

"I'll sit," Beckett told her husband reassuringly. She went to him and looped her arm through his, holding onto the upper part of it before they came to the next game that the two picked, sitting on a chair by the skeeball as she and Castle watched the two rolling the balls with the game with her father. As they started a second game she felt her husband touch her arm and she turned to him, smiling as he began to speak to her in Irish again.

" _Is cuimhin liom anois_ ," Castle told her.

Glancing quickly at the girls Beckett then said, as he'd said he remembered now, " _Go hiomlán_?"

" _Yes, but in its entirety I can't really tell them_ ," Castle replied as she'd said the word fully in her question. " _And I didn't want to share just yet_."

" _I'm not surprised_ ," Beckett said with a smile. " _But they'll need to go to bed soon so_ …"

" _I swear I'll tell you then, I'm eager to actually_ ," Castle replied before he saw their daughters and her father was coming back to them. " _Tú ag déanamh_?" he asked. When the two just looked at him he sighed and said, "Sorry, you're done?"

"We are," Julia said slowly, looking at her mother.

" _Táimid_ ," Beckett translated, surprised when Julia shook her head.

"In French, I thought we were supposed to be learning that for us to speak to each other," the girl explained.

" _Nous sommes_ ," Castle and Beckett said at the same time before they glanced at each other.

" _Nous_ ," Eliza said with a giggle. "We are, we wanna go on the bumper cars," she told them.

"Go ahead," Beckett said.

"You'll stay?" Jim asked.

"I could go with them," Castle said, startled that his father in law was looking at them both as he said that.

Watching her father smile as the girls took his hands Beckett said to her husband when they left, "They probably talked about doing that while we were talking."

"Kids'll have fun," Castle said while they watched their daughters and her father going over to the room where the hovering bumper cars were. "And we will too," he added as Brad and Lily made their way over to them a second later and he waited for them to reach where he and his wife were sitting.

"I would have gone over there but according to someone I shouldn't," Lily said as she sat down next to Beckett once Castle had moved out of the way for her.

"Would you even if you could?" Beckett asked knowingly.

Opening her mouth as if to speak Lily then stopped and shook her head with a smile before she told them, "Brad wanted to tell you guys something about the case."

"And give her a chance to sit," the chief said in protest. When the three just looked at him he shrugged and said, "Okay so I talked to Hutchinson and she went in to talk to Coupe."

"And was she able to?" Castle said after exchanging a glance with his wife.

"She was but all he said is that he was tired of everyone taking what was his," Brad replied. "And when she suggested Scarsi she said he corrected her angrily; saying it was me."  
"Nothing about McWilliams?" Beckett asked.

"The best we can figure; from his e-mails," Brad began. "Is that Coupe lured him as me saying he wanted a reunion and that I wanted to surprise Lily, so we should exchange e-mails. And because we hadn't talked in a while he had no reason to know that it wasn't me. McWilliams never asked because Coupe talked about Eve and Jacob a little bit and that's how he believed him."

"And Easter?" Beckett said.

"Coupe got lucky finding him here," Brad said. "And he could kill them because he was here already so he just… left out the bathroom window and went back to his hotel."

"Everything is wrapped up?" Castle asked. When his friend nodded he did so himself before he was about to speak when his wife was asking them all something he hadn't realized he'd been thinking of himself.

"Did you notice what happened when we talked to Skye?" Becket said, looking at her husband and the chief.

"Oh, thanks for reminding me," Brad replied as he reached into his pocket for his phone. "I was wondering about that too so while we were watching the kids outside playing I searched the news and found this."

Taking the man's phone Castle sat on the other side of his wife so they could watch what turned out to be a news clip.

" _We have word that an Air France 787 has over shot LAX runway 24L_ ," the news anchor said. " _NTSB officials joined rescuers on the scene shortly after it stopped on Dockweiler State Beach and our own cameras were there to capture the rescue efforts_."

Beckett tensed slightly at the sight of the plane on fire; halfway into the ocean; that the footage switched to and she wasn't surprised to see Skye was soon coming out of the water. "She must have called just before whatever exploded did," she commented. "Oh god," she said when she realized the investigator was carrying a child in her arms.

On the phone Skye set the child on the ground and began to compress its chest, yelling around her before some firefighters with a stretcher approached her. Just as they were setting it down the child; who was a girl; began to sit up coughing.

"She looks like she's alright," Castle said, not surprised to see his wife looked a little teary eyed.

"She does," Beckett agreed before she watched as Skye helped the men get the girl onto the stretcher and they carried her out of view of the camera that stayed on the plane.

"The anchor just talks about Skye and what she's done before," Brad said as Castle paused the clip. "Everyone survived but I don't know how that girl is."

"Let me get in touch with her," Beckett replied, getting her own phone out of her pocket and texting her friend quickly before she waited for a reply as one wasn't immediately coming to her surprise.

"It's almost four there isn't it?" Castle asked his wife as he watched her.

"I don't think… there she is," Beckett began before she stopped herself as she got a call then. "Skye?" she said once she'd answered.

"Yeah I assume you've seen the news?" the investigator asked.

"We did, we're wondering about that little girl," Castle said as his wife had put the phone on speaker.

"Fleur," Skye supplied. "And I'm at the hospital right now and they told me she's doing well."

"What about her family?" Beckett asked.

"She has no family," Skye said with a sigh.

"But everyone survived," Beckett said as she looked at her husband.

"She's an orphan, there was a group of them coming from France here to the US," Skye replied.

"To be adopted?" Castle asked, wondering at the woman's tone.

"No, they've taken them from a few orphanages in Paris because they have closed," Skye told them. "Mary is here with me."

"Can she hear us?" Beckett said, looking meaningfully at her husband.

"I can, hello everyone," Mary said on the other end.

"Listen, we've talked about it for some time and we've decided to attempt to adopt her," Skye then said. When she didn't hear anyone on the other end she said, "Are you there?"

"We're there, we're just expressing our not being surprised," Lily commented.

"Lily and Brad are here," Beckett explained quickly.

"Oh, hello to you both as well," Skye told them. "Was that translation a help?"

"After the fact," Brad said before he hurriedly explained what had happened. "But it was a help of course."

"Glad I could do that," Skye said. "So… I guess that's all there is for me to say about this. We don't know how this will go but we'll try."

"Did she see you at all?" Beckett asked.

"I went with her to the hospital, she told me her name and that she was very scared…" Skye said but she trailed off. "But she's sweet now I've seen her settled."

"Was she in the water?" Castle asked, recalling that some of the plane had been in the ocean.

"She was towards the front," Skye answered.

"The children were all sitting there," Mary began. "But they could get out; Fleur was a little dazed from the plane stopping and couldn't get out of her seatbelt."

"You cut it didn't you?" Beckett asked her friend.

"I had to and like I said she's alright," Skye replied. "Listen, we need to go I'm getting a call from the Senator who was involved in getting the kids here from France."

"Good luck," Beckett said. "Call us."

"We will, thank you," Skye said before her wife said the same.

"Three kids," Castle told his wife when she put her phone away. "They are so copying us."

"She's probably very sweet, especially if she speaks only French," Lily commented. "They both do, right?"

"They do," Castle said. "And our kids are getting back to us," he told the three as he looked over to the other room to see they were coming out with Jim.

"Should we just go to the café now for dessert?" Rebecca asked as she and her husband had been with the others.

"I guess, since we're all here of course," Brad commented.

"I just wonder if it's a good idea to have dessert," Castle said as they were starting to walk over to it.

"I don't think we could try and tell them no now," Beckett told her husband as she was holding onto his arm.

"Yeah you make a good point," Castle replied with a nod. "Now that they know they're going to demand it."

"And they're already sitting at the tables," Jim pointed out to his daughter and son in law.

"I guess it's settled now," Castle told his wife. When she just smiled at him he then asked her, " _Are you going to tell them_?"

Beckett didn't answer verbally, instead nodding to him before she went over to the table where their daughters were sitting which had enough for all five of them. She smiled at her daughters before she called to everyone; though Brad and Lily knew already; "I have some news though it's not mine. But it is our friends' news so I still want to let you know. Skye and Mary let me, Rick, Brad and Lily know they're going to try and adopt their third daughter."

Castle wasn't surprised when Julia and Eliza gasped, and he said, "It's not for sure but we get the feeling they'll be able to bring her into their family."

"What's her name? How old is she?" Julia asked.

"I'm not sure how old she is, let me text Skye really quickly," Beckett said once she realized that. "And her name is Fleur."

Looking at her sister; as they both immediately thought about Harry Potter she knew; Julia then said, "Is that it?"

"I'll ask her that too," Beckett said, adding that quickly to the text. She smiled when Skye answered back swiftly and said, "Her full name is Fleur Nicolette and she's seven, her birthday was on January first. And they're likely going to be able to adopt her."

"I like her name," Eliza said once her mother sat down.

"Was she born the same year you and Daddy got engaged?" Julia asked her mother.

"Yes," Beckett replied. "2013, did you figure that out?"

"Yeah," Julia said. "How come they're gonna adopt her?"

"They want to," Beckett replied. "They met her, and they love her already."

Julia smiled and said, "Can we still get dessert?"

"Yeah, what do you guys want," Castle said. "I'll go and order it," he said quickly as he saw that Brad and David were going over to the counter.

"Just get us the banana split love," Beckett told him.

"We get to share?" Eliza asked with a gasp of delight.

"We can," Beckett told them with a smile. As her youngest got up and went over to her she held out her arm to the little girl, wrapping it tightly about her before she kissed her cheek and said, "I hope you'll think of what we get to do next."

"Do you want to do something Mommy?" Julia asked as she got up and went to the other side of her.

"I would but what I'm not sure yet," Beckett told them. "I'm sure I'll think of something though."

"A video game?" Julia asked.

"Yeah, you should do that Mommy," Eliza told her.

"Is that because I can sit?" Beckett said, looking between the two.

"Sorta," Julia said, sharing a smile with her sister before they started to laugh together.

"I'll see, I may want to try something standing up," Beckett said before she saw Castle coming back with the split. She let go of Eliza and then reached for Julia, wrapping her arms around her tightly saying, "We'll do something together this time."

"Good," Julia replied, hugging her and kissing her cheek before her mother kissed hers. She went around the table to sit down on her seat as the banana split was set in between them and she said, "Who gets what?"

"Like we always do," Castle said, handing out spoons before he took Eliza onto his lap. "Me the chocolate with your mom, you the strawberry with your sister sweetheart," he said, tickling her with his free hand, making her giggle. "And everyone shares the vanilla, bananas, whipped cream and sauces."

"Okay," Julia and Eliza said happily before they dove into the ice cream together.

Beckett shared a smile with her husband as they watched their daughters for a moment before they turned their attention to the ice cream and followed them in getting it as well.

* * *

"Mommy," Julia said as Jim went inside the house after he'd said goodnight to them while they were in the garage. "What are we gonna do now?"

"We are going to get you into the bath and shower and then Eliza is going to bed," Castle answered instead.

"It's a little later," Beckett told the two with a smile. "So you need to go to bed."

"Fine," Eliza said, pouting her lips. She giggled when her father; who was carrying her into the house; pecked her cheek with a kiss. "Will you give me a bath Daddy?"

"Of course," Castle replied. "You'll be alright in the shower?"

"Of course," Julia echoed purposely with a smile.

It took a moment for the family to go upstairs once they were in the entry as the dogs ran to them and the girls immediately set about hugging them tightly before scratching behind their ears. After they had stopped Castle and Beckett took them upstairs to the girls' bedrooms, splitting up between the two with the dogs following them.

"What're you gonna do Mommy?" Julia asked her mother as she had her help her take off her sweater.

"I'll read," Beckett said.

"Not my-" Julia said, looking a little panicked.

"No, not your diary," Beckett said with a smile. "I would never do that sweetie, that's something that's private."

"Oh…" Julia said slowly. "Sorry."

"It's okay, I know you don't want anyone to read it," Beckett said. "Now go take your shower before it gets too late."

Julia nodded and then rushed into the bathroom so she could start her shower, realizing her mother had never answered her question about what she was going to be doing exactly. But she knew that her mother wouldn't want her to go back out so she got undressed before she stepped into the shower stall as quickly as she could.

Beckett stood up after she heard the water running and she paused for a moment before she went to the door. Knocking on it she heard her daughter asking, "What?" and she told her, "I'm going to check on your sister Julia, I'll be back to brush your hair."

"Okay," Julia said, not surprised to hear that though she hadn't thought of it herself.

Going over to Eliza's room Beckett stood in the doorway, smiling at the sight of her husband rinsing off their youngest before she said, "Having fun?"

"Yeah," Eliza said first, smiling over at her.

"Good," Beckett replied. "I just wanted to check on her," she told her husband.

"You know Julia's nearly eleven," Castle commented as he had Eliza stand up.

"Eventually I'll let her get ready completely on her own," Beckett replied as she knew what he was talking about. "But not just yet," she told him. "I'll be with her."

"Alright," Castle said with a smile as she turned around and left.

Stopping at her father's room Beckett said, "Are you going to bed now?" as he came to his door.

"I am," Jim replied. "It's why I said goodnight to them earlier."

"Alright, goodnight Dad," Beckett said.

"Goodnight Katie," Jim said before he closed the door after she went down the hall.

Going back to Julia's room Beckett smiled when she stepped out into the hall and saw that Macca and JoJo were in the doorway. "Hey boys," she told them, scratching the tops of their heads. "Julia's not out yet?" she asked as she walked inside and then closed the door behind her.

"I'm out now Mommy," Julia said as she stepped outside.

"How was your shower?" Beckett asked as she took her daughter's brush that she handed to her.

"Nice, I feel warm now," Julia said.

"I'm glad to hear that," Beckett replied, beginning to brush her hair gently.

"How was Lizzy?" Julia asked.

"Good," Beckett said. "She was tired though, I could tell."

"How come?" Julia said, turning her head slightly.

"She didn't really say that much," Beckett told her. "I bet you she's asleep once we go inside her room."

"Yeah," Julia said, slightly laughingly. She put away her brush and then went with her mother down to her sister's room where she saw that Beckett had been right and Eliza was fast asleep on her bed.

"Sorry I tucked her in," Castle whispered to his wife as she neared the bed.

"That's okay, she would have gotten cold," Beckett replied, squeezing his arm before they watched Julia saying goodnight to Eliza in a whisper. She smiled as her husband told her to go ahead; knowing he'd said goodnight to her likely as she'd been falling asleep; and she leaned over to gently press a kiss to the little girl's forehead. "Sweet dreams Eliza, I love you."

After they had left the room Julia said to her parents, "I want to write but you will talk to me, right?"

"Yes, but sweetie-" Beckett started to say.

"Mommy I was by a bomb that went off," Julia told her mother, trying not to sound exasperated. "And I… well I had a nightmare, but I was okay and I know bad stuff happens. And Brad sorta said what happened but he didn't say what happened just that the bomber took you and then you Daddy."

Sighing Beckett said, "Alright, go and write and then we'll talk."

Since they were in her room Julia hugged her parents tightly before she went over to her desk and got everything ready before she began to write, starting with the date at the top of the page.

 _January 29, 2020_

 _Sorry I forgot to write yesterday but that was 'cause I had a big sleepover (and it was a Tuesday night so that was really cool). But yesterday there was some news; not with my family; and then today too; not my family again; so I'm gonna write really quick since I gotta go to bed soon._

 _Okay so first yesterday I found out that Brad and Lily are gonna have a baby! And she was keeping it a secret so she's just a month less than Mommy. Oh, and they found out what the baby is and it's a girl! Eve and Jake are really happy having a sister and I'm glad that Jake is 'cause he's gonna have two sisters now. I talked to him and he said he didn't care 'cause he already has a sister, so another isn't any different. And he wants to be a big brother; he said he always did 'cause he doesn't like being called the little brother._

 _But yesterday too there was a bomb at Lily's restaurant and I think she_ _almost got hurt and_ _no, she got thrown down on the ground and they checked the baby. But they're okay and Brad and Lily let Eve stay over for the night. And David and Rebecca let Mari stay too so that was a lot of fun and we were talking so that's why I didn't get to write to you yesterday._

 _And then today we went to dinner with everyone here and we sat at the big table at the restaurant all together, that was fun. After we got to go to the arcade and played the games and even had dessert. And when we had dessert Mommy told us all that Skye and Mary are gonna try to adopt a little girl. I think something happened; just the way Mommy looked at Daddy really fast when I asked about her; but I'm gonna ask her after this. Oh, the girl's name is Fleur Nic_

"Daddy?" Julia said, looking over at her parents on the side of her bed. She smiled when she saw her father's arm was around her mother and she then said, "How do you spell Fleur's middle name?"

"N-I-C-O-L-E-T-T-E," Castle spelled out. "Are you almost done?"

"Am I late?" Julia asked, worried that was the case.

"No, we're just wondering," Beckett said reassuringly. "Go ahead and keep writing."

Julia nodded and then turned back to her entry, picking up where she had left off by finishing spelling the middle name.

 _olette which is really pretty. I hope they can adopt her and that we can meet her. She's from Paris; and 7 her birthday is New Year's Day which is nice you turn a year old just like the year; I wonder if she speaks French. That would be cool because we are trying to learn to speak that._

 _So a lot the past two days but the one thing I almost forgot is that Mommy and Daddy solved their case. And that's it they're gonna work on until after the baby is born so now they get to stay home… I just hope that Mommy won't mind at all!_

 _I better go, I want to talk to them and I'm gonna have to go to bed soon. So good night diary!_

With that Julia closed the diary and then put it away before cleaning up her pen, getting up and going over to her parents. "What happened?" she asked them both.

"You cut right to the chase," Beckett said wryly before Castle pulled Julia onto his lap. "And since you were so insistent on being told what happened it started when we found a note from one of the victims." She quickly explained everything leading up to the point where Coupe had been shot by both herself and Brad.

"Oh…" Julia said. When her parents looked at her questioningly she explained, "I didn't think you still had your gun for work."

"I have to," Beckett said simply. "And I don't anymore; it stayed in the station for when I come back. But we're okay, Brad's okay and everything has been wrapped up." She watched her daughter thinking that over before she suddenly smiled as the girl began to speak.

"I thought you were gonna be… mad that you had to stop investigating," Julia told her mother.

With a smile herself Beckett told her, "Oh no it needed to happen, and it was my choice. I'm not going to be getting any smaller and it's going to be harder for me to move around as time goes on so it's better I stop." She glanced at Castle and said, "Plus he'd want me to anyways."

"Can't help but worry love," he said simply. Castle then said, "But now you know… did you know?"

"I told Brad," Julia said. "That I knew something happened to Mommy really quick and then you really quick before you were both okay. But it was so fast I was confused."

"It was fast," Castle said with a nod of agreement.

"Don't look at me, it just happened that way," Beckett said, shaking her head. She smiled and told their daughter, "But we're all okay now."

"They're fine," Julia said, smiling at her mother as she was checking her arms.

"They are and I'm very glad," Beckett told her. "Okay," she then said.

"No, wait!" Julia said immediately. "I wanted to ask something else."

"I think I know what," Beckett said. "You want to know more about Fleur, don't you?"

"She kinda came here all of a… sudden," Julia replied, searching for the right word.

"She did," Castle said, glancing at his wife as he thought she would be the best one to tell their daughter what had happened. He wasn't surprised when Beckett didn't speak right away, knowing she wanted to think out what exactly she would say before she started while he and Julia watched her.

"It might not surprise you but there was a plane that missed the runway at LAX," Beckett said.

"That doesn't," Julia said quickly.

"Or that Skye went immediately to the scene and started helping people out," Beckett told her.

"Nope," Julia said. She smiled when her mother squeezed her hand and then said, "And Fleur was on the plane?"

"She was, she was part of a group of orphans from Paris that were being brought to one in LA," Beckett told her. "And Brad showed us a news clip where she pulled Fleur out of the plane and had to…"

"Was she unconscious?" Julia asked.

"She was," Castle said. "And she needed to wake her up which she managed to do."

"Oh… so she feels close to Fleur now?" Julia asked.

Beckett was going to respond to her daughter with a yes when she paused and merely nodded, not sure what had made her forget that the situation was basically the same as her and Julia. "So now you know but I'm sure she wouldn't want to talk about it should you ever meet her," she said, shaking herself from her thoughts.

"I know," Julia replied, nodding her head. "I hope we get to meet her."

"I'm sure we will," Castle said.

"Is it time already?" Julia asked in disappointment as she noticed her mother looking at her watch.

"It is," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when her daughter sighed in obvious disappointment and told her, "You had a good time tonight."

"I did," Julia said firmly and with a wide smile. "Thanks for letting us go to the arcade."

"You're welcome and we had fun too," Castle said as he waited for her to climb up on the bed.

"Good," Julia replied. She then hugged her father once he was sitting next to her. "I love you Daddy, I'm glad you're okay," she told him firmly.

"I love you too sweetie," Castle told her, kissing her temple and then sharing a kiss with her. "And I'm glad you are too."

"Thanks," Julia replied with a smile before she watched him switch places with her mother. As soon as Beckett was sitting down she reached for her mother's stomach and she pressed her hand to it gently. "Is she moving?" she asked.

"Not at the moment," Beckett replied with a smile as she placed her hand on top of her daughter's.

"She's tired," Julia commented.

"Probably," Beckett said with a nod. When Julia then hugged her, she embraced her back as tightly and said, "Goodnight sweetheart, I love you so much."

"I love you so much too Mommy," Julia replied before she smiled at her. She shared a kiss with her before they parted and said, "I hope you'll rest now."

"I'm sure your daddy will make sure that I do," Beckett said with a smile. She hugged her tightly again and told her, "Sleep tight sweetie."

"I will," Julia said, smiling at her. She laid down and watched her mother tuck her in before watching her parents go. She closed her eyes, thinking of what they would get to do until the baby was born. Her mind went to Valentine's Day which was nearing, and she smiled a little at the thought of her parents going to the ball that night in the city. She sighed; as they were going to be in the city that weekend; and did her best to relax before she could fall asleep and get to that day faster.


	25. Haunts Me Like The Sound Of The Rain Pt2

"The travel book?" Beckett asked her husband as she watched him walking over to her.

"Yeah," Castle said simply. "You wanted me to tell you, didn't you?"

"I did," Beckett said while he walked around the bed and climbed onto his side. She looked on while he flipped through the pages and she said with a smile, "I thought you might talk about this."

Castle nodded and then said, "It just came to mind."

"They always seem to do that," Beckett said, shaking her head as she was smiling at him. She squeezed his hand gently and said, "Tell me, I really want to know."

"Like it says here it was May 27, 1937 and we already talked about the ages all the girls were," Castle began. "But I was thirty-eight and you were thirty-seven."

"Still young," Beckett commented.

"Yeah," Castle said. "And I could have said this to the girls I know but…"

"It gets more adult at the end?" Beckett asked him.

"Yeah but not why I didn't tell them," Castle replied. "I wanted to share it with you first."

Beckett smiled and told him, "So we were there, I'm assuming the day before they let the cars on it?"

"The day before and Julia and Eliza were in roller skates," Castle told her.

"Oh," Beckett laughed softly. "I forgot they allowed them to do that."

"Yeah, so should I get into more detail?" Castle asked her. When his wife just looked at him he smiled and then told her everything he remembered and could easily relive as he spoke about what he'd seen in his mind.

* * *

 _"Ma can we go yet?" Elizabeth asked her._

 _"Not yet but they're finishing up the ceremonies at the other end soon," Kate assured her daughter. "Rick, your hat," she told her husband._

 _"Alright," he said with a sigh though he quickly put on his fedora. "All ready?" he asked Julia who held his hand._

 _"I am Da," Julia said with a smile as she practiced with her skate. "You don't have to hold onto me."_

 _"No but…" Rick began, smiling back at her_.

* * *

"You can't see her at all can you?" Beckett asked.

"No," Castle replied. "I bet I'd only be able to see her at ten, nearly eleven years old. But I get enough of a look at them I know it's them; except for our youngest."

"Of course," Beckett said with a smile. "But you can see Alexis, can't you?"

"Yeah," Castle replied with a firm nod. He then said, "Should I keep going?"

"Go ahead," Beckett told him with a nod.

"Okay, so finally they finished the ceremonies at the front and people were let on," Castle began. "But we were at the back for some reason though finally we started to walk or in Julia's and Eliza's cases; rolled."

* * *

 _"How beautiful," Kate commented as she and her husband walked hand in hand together._

 _"It is," Rick said, looking at her from the orange red towers. "Warm?"_

 _"You know I am," Kate said as she held her hat to her head. "I just don't want to lose this; I'm very fond of it."_

 _"I know," Rick said, smiling at her._

 _Giving him a look at his admiration for her outfit Kate said, "And how are our girls?"_

 _"They're fine," Rick said, turning to look ahead of them at the four. "All spiffed up and crossing the Bay."_

 _Kate laughed and then lowered her arm so she could put her hand on the shoulder of their youngest. "Are you enjoying things?" she asked the girl._

 _"I am Ma," she replied, smiling. She laughed as her sister skated back to her and said, "I want to do that Ma."_

 _"Not yet," Rick told her. "When you get old enough you'll be roaring through town."_

 _"Come on," Elizabeth told her sister before she skated slow enough to allow her to run next to her._

 _"I hope they're all waiting for us on the other side," Rick said once they were alone._

 _"Of course," Kate said. "Ma's set on getting us to dinner."_

 _"I just hope they all don't mind staying over the night," Rick said to his wife._

 _"Ma!" Julia called before Alexandra was doing the same._

 _"What is it girls?" Beckett asked, going to where they were stopped._

 _"Can we look down at the water?" Julia asked, pointing to the railing._

 _"We can," Rick said, picking up first Elizabeth and then Julia as the two youngest girls climbed over the curb that divided the road from the side._

 _"Mind your skates girls," Kate said after Rick had helped her step over the curb herself._

 _"Ma look, the city!" Alexandra said, pointing it out to her._

 _"Beautiful," Rick commented as they looked out on San Francisco._

 _"What's that?" Julia asked, pointing at the building under the other end of the bridge._

 _"Fort Point," Rick replied. "I think they're going to leave it here."_

 _"And we're left, come on everyone we have a surprise at the end," Kate said, not surprised when the girls immediately started to ask what that was. She and her husband managed to get them to continue until they were finally in San Francisco. "Are we going to be able to walk back love?" she asked her husband._

 _"We will," Rick said with a nod. "And there's your surprise girls," he said, putting Alexandra down._

 _"Grandma!" all four girls cried out._

 _Though she wanted to remind the two with skates they had shoes to change into Kate couldn't hold them back and she smiled as they all hugged their grandmother before going to their aunts and uncle._

 _"I imagine you had quite a walk," Rose said as she came over to her sister and embraced her tightly._

 _"You should be a fashion designer," Kate told her teasingly as she was straightening the red, blue and white striped sash that went with her dark blue collared dress._

 _"Just an admirer, you look smashing darling," Rose told her twin with a smile. "Girls look smashing too. Now, we're all ready to go and lucky us Ma has some sweet potatoes."_

 _"Then we should go back," Kate said before going to the girls who were with their Uncle Patrick._

 _"You look aces Kate," he said once he saw her approaching._

 _"My sister agrees," she replied, smiling slightly. "Girls," she directed to Julia and Elizabeth. "Shoes," she continued simply._

 _With a sigh the two switched their skates for their Mary Janes, taking their younger sisters' hands as they began to walk back to Marin County with their family._

 _When they reached the halfway point, Johanna stopped them all and said, "You'll forgive me."_

 _"It's alright Ma," Rose said_

 _"It's quite a walk," Kate agreed with her. "Your youngest grandchildren couldn't make it."_

 _"Then I'll volunteer we'll carry them," Patrick said. "Since you both did the same."_

 _"If they want you to," Kate said._

 _"How are we all getting to your home?" Rose asked her sister._

 _"Oh, we can walk," Kate replied. She smiled when she saw her sister was rolling her eyes and then told her, "We brought the Lizzie."_

 _"Should have known. Is that husband of yours ever going to get rid of it?" Rose asked._

 _"Not if he can help it," Kate said._

 _"I prefer the '32," Patrick commented._

 _"So do we," Kate replied. "But the Lizzie is special to us both."_

 _Rose smiled at her sister as her husband looked confused but then went over to Rick as they were starting to walk once again. "He never fixed the scratches, did he?" she asked._

 _"No," Kate said softly. "I don't want him to."_

* * *

"That sounds like you," Beckett said interrupting her husband for a moment. "And how did you know what we'd been talking about?"

"I can hear, and I wasn't that far from you guys," Castle said simply. He wrapped his arm around his wife then and said, "Not bad though."

"Walking over the bridge? No but I'm surprised our kids weren't exhausted when we got back to Marin County," Beckett said. "Right?"

"Just Alexis and our youngest but we got to our car," Castle replied. He wasn't surprised to see the questioning expression on his wife's face and then told her, "A Ford Model B, 1932. Blue with white wheels."

"Nice but we could afford it?" Beckett asked him.

"I think I got a job… no, remember how I told you I wrote? From that," Castle said. "We were getting through everything alright."  
"Good to hear, now, pick up from when we got to the cars, who drove what?" Beckett asked.

Laughing slightly Castle said, "Alright," before he continued his story from where she asked him to.

* * *

 _"So you'll get on to the home," Rick told his sister in law and brother in law. "How's your mother?"_

 _"Alright, touring the apple but she wants to come home," Mary herself replied. "But she'll be back soon."_

 _"Wonder why she wanted to go," Rick said as he watched their Ford head back to the road._

 _"She had to, you know she needs to see Mary's aunt," Kate said. "Come on love, let's get home."_

 _Nodding Rick followed her to the car and they got inside together before he drove them back to Mill Valley. But before they could get to the town itself he stopped in Sausalito._

 _"What's the hold up?" Kate asked him._

 _"A surprise, for today," Rick told her. He stopped; near the bay; at a bakery and they got out together. "For the bridge and all of us."_

 _Kate followed him inside, wondering what exactly he had ordered for them before he was speaking to the man behind the counter._

 _"Mr. O'Donovan," the baker said. "Mrs. O'Donovan," he added to Kate._

 _"How are you all?" Rick asked him._

 _"Good, how was the bridge?" the baker asked._

 _"Magnificent," Rick answered. "Should deliver to the city now."_

 _Laughing, as he was bringing over a box to them, the baker told them, "I've been thinking, will love not taking that blasted ferry. Here's your pineapple and raspberry Neapolitan."_

 _"It's the cat's pajamas Michel," Rick said, nodding at the swirl pattern on the top of the dessert that he'd asked for, the same color as the bridge. "You do a fantastic job." He paid for it and then left with his wife telling her, "We're not the only ones getting those."  
"I'm not surprised," Kate told him as she took the box on her lap once she was sitting in the car. They went the rest of the way home and found their daughters in the front playing with their dogs. "Alright, I suppose I'll have to change," she said once they stepped out of the car._

 _"Why?" Rick asked._

 _Shooting a smile at her husband; as she knew he liked her dress; Kate said, "I'll be helping with the roast."_

 _"Ma's already taking care of that," Rose said, coming back to them as the girls had run over to their parents once the car was in the garage._

 _"Oh… Patrick?" Kate started to say in protest before she realized he wasn't there._

 _"In with Ma," Rose said, gesturing with her head. "Wants to learn that roast the best he can, but he's stuck with peeling those potatoes."_

 _"Stay Ma," the youngest of the girls said, holding onto her mother's hand tightly._

 _"Alright," Kate said slowly. "But I can't run around, your da wants me to stay in this dress."_

 _"We know Ma, we want to play with Mutt and Charlie," Elizabeth told her._

 _"I can throw," Kate said in mock exasperation to her husband as he was looking at her. She pulled off her blue gloves and walked with them fully to the backyard before she took off her red hat. "Mind holding those?" she asked Mary._

 _"I'll take them inside," the woman told her with a smile._

 _"Alright, go on first Alexandra," Kate told her daughter with a smile._

 _For some time, the family was throwing the stick their two Boston Terriers would play with around to them before the canines brought it back. When Johanna called them in Rick and Kate helped the girls wash up before they set their dining room table._

 _Gathered around it and beginning to eat Rick commented, "Big day for the city."_

 _"And Marin County," Patrick pointed out. "Just imagine no ferry unless you want to."_

 _"Hmm, for the tourists," Rose commented with a smile. "And the children."_

 _"That would be nice for them," Mary said. "But I would prefer the bridge."_

 _"Are you going to drive along it?" Julia asked her aunt._

 _"Perhaps," Rose answered instead. "I think we would like to see all of you."_

 _"We want to see you too," Alexandra told them with a smile._

 _"Will they be goin' to school tomorrow?" Johanna asked her daughter._

 _"Of course," Kate replied._

 _"Yes, how did they manage to go to the bridge?" Patrick asked._

 _"Their school understood the history of today," Rick answered. "So they're very lucky."_

 _"I have to write a report," Julia told everyone. "On what I think of the bridge."_

 _"You'll do a grand job of it," Johanna told her granddaughter._

 _"I'll do my best," Julia said, nodding her head._

 _"Just don't let your da write it for you," Rose said jokingly._

 _Rolling his eyes Rick then said, "Her ma would never let me."_

 _"And I would know because I'll read it for her when she's finished," Kate continued for him. She then said, "What will you do for the rest of the day," directing that to their family who'd come from San Francisco._

 _"I would like to continue walking," Patrick said._

 _"Through the city," Mary added._

 _"That would be nice," Rick said. "Would we all have to go?"_

 _"We're taking the girls," Rose said._

 _"Are you taking them to the soda fountain?" Kate asked. At her sister's wide smile, she sighed heavily and said, "I suppose it's alright but you'll only get them a soda, shake or frost."_

 _"And they'll split," Rick said._

 _Rose; realizing they had dessert for after dinner; nodded and smiled at them saying, "Will we be having a cold supper?"_

 _"Sandwiches," Rick replied._

 _"Alright, then how does that sound to you girls?" Rose asked the four who were sitting together on one side of the table._

 _When they immediately answered at the same time the adults all began to laugh together, and they calmed down the girls so they could finish their roast and mashed sweet potatoes and they could go._

* * *

"Our family just left us all alone?" Beckett asked her husband with a wry smile on her face.

"It looks like it," Castle said. "And this is where it becomes more adult."

"I'm an adult and I think I can handle it," Beckett replied.

"Okay," Castle said. "We said goodbye to them once they were ready to go and then hurried back into the house and up to our room."

"Nothing new about that," Beckett told him with a smile.

"Not at all," Castle said, returning her smile before he went back to the memory.

* * *

 _Gasping as her husband was biting at her neck Kate quickly stopped him and told him, "If they see that…"_

 _"I know," Rick said with a heavy sigh, pulling away from her. He finally turned back to the door and closed and locked it though they were alone by then in the house. As he turned back to his wife he saw she was beginning to unbutton her dress and he breathed out heavily before going over to her._

 _"Can I help you love?" Kate asked him._

 _"You're doing a wonderful job right now," Rick answered, his voice husky._

 _Kate glanced down at her husband and saw the slight bulge at the front of his trousers before she reached down to it. As she gently raked her nails over the front of him she listened to his hiss of pleasure before she said, "They won't take very long."_

 _"Then we should hurry," Rick told her before he reached for her buttons, trying his best not to take any of them after him before he then leaned down and pressed his lips around her brassier._

 _Tempted to tell her husband he wasn't hurrying Kate found she couldn't do it as soon he was helping her out of the dress shortly after. Her under clothing followed and she was left naked to help Rick out of his clothes. Once he had joined her completely bare they fell onto the bed before she stopped him. "Do you-" she began._

 _"I do, hold on," Rick said, reaching over to his nightstand. He pulled out a condom and then had her help him with it as they began to kiss deeply at the same time until he was ready._

* * *

"You know I wondered about that when you said I told you I didn't want any more kids after our fourth," Beckett said in amusement, unable to help interrupting her husband.

"Yeah, well that was our only option you know," Castle replied.

"Probably not very fun for either of us," Beckett told him.

"No but it's either that or I try and pull out," Castle told her. "And if we'd tried that we'd have ended up with at least two more."

Laughing slightly Beckett said, "Which is sort of a cautionary tale for us too."

"You know there are other methods," Castle pointed out.

"There are," Beckett replied. "But I think we have the best way right now."

"You being pregnant?" Castle asked her. He laughed a bit when she rolled her eyes and he leaned over, kissing her gently on the lips. He started to pull away from her but couldn't move too far before he was leaning back into her. He kissed her harder then, not surprised to feel her responding to him shortly after. They tangled their tongues together for a while before he pulled back and then stayed enough away to speak. "There's more to this than us making love," he said.

"Alright," Beckett replied as they moved away enough for her to lean against his side again.

"Okay, so we got the condom on me when I realized something," Castle began.

* * *

 _"You want to do that? What if you don't have another-" Kate said in slight frustration to her husband._

 _"I do," Rick said. "Just… we have enough time and I want to wait a little longer." When she looked at him pointedly he sighed and said, "I just want to; I haven't in… ages."_

 _Kate didn't take much time to decide how she should respond to his request, but she took a moment before she replied telling him, "Alright but I'll be first."_

 _"O-" Rick began to say before she was turning him around onto his back. He watched her, swearing heavily as she was running her fingers deliberately over his erection before it was bared to her. He sat up before she could move again, and he kissed her as hard as he could before they wrapped their arms around each other._

 _Once they were parted Kate brushed her lips repeatedly over her husband's and then made him lay down fully before she leaned down to his chest. She could feel Rick tensing up as she pressed kisses over him until she was down at his erection. The second she was there she didn't waste very much time, knowing what her husband wanted to do much more was after they pleasured each other. And she wanted the chance to feel him doing the same to her, so she went a little faster over his length until finally he was climaxing, making him yell out her name repeatedly until she felt him relaxing on the bed._

 _"You're going to kill me Kate," Rick said as his wife moved over to lay next to him, looking down at him._

 _"I wouldn't, who would do all of that for me?" she asked him. Kate began to laugh softly as he turned her onto her back and held him tightly before he kissed at her neck._

 _Traveling down his wife's body Rick went everywhere he could until he was at her breasts. He nuzzled at both mounds reverently while she moaned deeply in response before he moved lower. His lips traveled over her abdomen until he was at her sex and as soon as he was he began to pleasure her. He loved the way her body writhed underneath him, and she called out his name every so often. But what he wanted most he very quickly had it as he was able to taste her desire for him. And when he pushed her over the edge he had it even more until she was still below him and he smiled as he pulled away to lay next to her and take her in his arms._

 _"Hmm, how long do you think it'll take?" Kate asked him as she pressed her chest up against his hand that was cupping her breast._

 _"Do you want me to start now?" Rick asked her in response._

 _Kate's response was to take his hand and place it at her clit, sighing as he began to stroke at her still swollen nub. She let him do that for just a little longer before she stopped him and turned so she was looking at him and they could kiss. After they slowly parted she was going to lean into him again when he stopped her and asked her a question she knew he'd been holding back; likely painfully; until he had the chance to speak._

 _"Mind if you touch?" Rick said simply._

 _"If you keep your paws on me," Kate replied. When he shuddered she leaned over, kissing him deeply, until she moved away. As he began to rub her clit she reached for his length to curl her hand around it. They pleasured one another for a while until she made him stop and said, "We don't have time."_

 _Breathing out hard Rick nodded and then said, "What would you like," his voice wavering when she let go of him. He wasn't surprised when she didn't reply to him, merely hauled him on top of her. He carefully slipped within her; as he knew from so many years married that she didn't want to wait by the way she held onto him. Once they were coupled he then began to move, loving the way she moaned out loud before he stopped._

* * *

"Wait, wait, you forgot-" Beckett said.

"You interrupted me," Castle said with a smile. "I stopped then and after letting you know why I had we hurried with the second condom and then started up again. Couldn't you have kept track of when you were ovulating?"

"I have no idea," Beckett said honestly. "When would I have looked up if you could do that in the thirties? So, we made love…"

"Essentially how we do now," Castle replied with a nod. "But when we finished you were on top," he added, not surprised when she smiled at him.

* * *

 _Her heavy breath hitting his damp shoulder Rick asked his wife, "Are you… are you with me?" stammering slightly as he was breathless himself._

 _"Are you?" Kate asked._

 _"Yes," Rick said simply before she was leaning down to him and then kissing him deeply. He was swift to respond to her and they held one another tightly before he slowly moved back saying, "I need to take this off."_

 _"Please," Kate replied, getting off him. She watched him go over to their bathroom and she smiled before lying on her back. When her husband very quickly came out to her she said, "We need to get dressed."_

 _Going over to the door Rick said, "It's quiet."_

 _"You can't know when they'll be back you sap," Kate replied as she got off the bed. When her husband came to her she allowed him to grab her before she smirked and then told him, "You can."_

 _"Thank you," Rick said, kissing her as hard as he possibly could before they were pressing against one another close. When they stopped; with her making them do so; he followed her to her clothes she'd laid neatly out before he squeezed her hand tightly and left her quickly._

 _Kate was a little taken aback but didn't say anything until he came out with a washcloth. She smiled at him and watched him begin to sponge off her body, gasping when he began to rub the cloth in circles around her nipples and then clit. She wanted to tell him to make love to her again when he stopped and stepped away. She followed him into their bathroom and as soon as they were there she grabbed a second washcloth before cleaning him._

 _Rick was hissing heavily when his wife began to concentrate on his member and he couldn't stop his erection from manifesting. "They-" he began before she was suddenly pulling him back to their bed._

* * *

"We made love again," Beckett stated.

"To put it more succinctly we fucked, hard," Castle said. "Not exactly a quickie but close," he told her.

"Did we remember any protection?" Beckett asked him.

"No," Castle replied.

"And we didn't have five kids?" Beckett asked.

"No," Castle said. "Though I'm surprised too. I'm guessing you weren't at the prime…" He thought that over and then said, "I don't know how to finish that."

"Better you don't," Beckett said though she was smiling. "Did we realize we forgot to cover you up?"

Castle couldn't help shudder in pleasure at her wording and he took a moment to answer her before he said, "We did, took a while which was surprising since you could feel me filling you up," watching as she bit her lower lip for a moment.

* * *

 _"Rick, you… we forgot," Kate told her husband._

 _Swearing Rick pulled away from her and saw that she was right, making him bury his face into his hands as he groaned out, "I'm sorry."_

 _"No," Kate stated, sitting up to be closer to him. She took his hands off and kissed him gently saying, "We must be more careful and hope I won't be finding out we have another on the way." She smiled when Rick nodded, and they kissed again before she let him off the bed to clean each other off again and get dressed once more before they were going out and down to the kitchen._

 _"The-" Rick began to say before their telephone rang. He exchanged a look with his wife before he picked up the receiver saying, "O'Donovan residence."_

 _"It's me," Patrick replied. "We're down at the soda fountain; you haven't started on supper, have you?"_

 _"No, are we meeting there?" Rick asked, looking at Kate who was watching him._

 _"Not here, over at the place where they have the fresh tortillas," Patrick said. "You know the place."_

 _"We do, we'll see you down at the fountain," Rick said before his brother in law hung up._

 _"I wouldn't put it past them to pay the bills," Kate commented._

 _"Well the girls have lunch for themselves tomorrow," Rick said. "Shall we?"_

 _"Yes," Kate said with a smile before she looked around for her hat and gloves. She soon had them in hand and the hat on her head before she looped her arm through Rick's and they headed out to downtown Mill Valley._

* * *

"Anything after we left?" Beckett asked her husband.

"Not really," Castle replied. "Unless you want to know about that night when we got back to our room."

"We made love again?" Beckett said.

Shaking his head Castle said, "No, so I better tell you."

"I think you should," Beckett said with a smile before he began to speak.

* * *

 _"What are you thinking love?" Kate asked her husband with a smile as she saw he'd remained at the door._

 _"I shouldn't have forgotten-" Rick began._

 _"Stop being a sap Rick," Kate told him firmly, going over to him. She took his hands and squeezed them tightly saying, "We've been lucky until now. And as for now come."_

 _At her firm tone Rick found he couldn't say no to her and allowed her to pull him over to the bathroom. He reached for her before she could begin unbuttoning her dress and he did it for her. Before he could get it off her she was grabbing for the buttons on his vest and he allowed her to get that tossed aside before he held her close._

 _Kate smiled at her husband before they began to kiss deeply and sensuously for some time. But finally she knew they needed to get to the tub and she made him stop so she could pull off her dress. She was surprised when he undressed at the same time as her but appreciated it as he was able to start filling the white porcelain with warm water. She followed him inside once it was ready and leaning back against him she said, "If we have another I wouldn't mind."_

 _"Oh?" Rick asked, placing his hands on her stomach firmly._

 _"Hmm, I wouldn't, another little one to run around," Kate replied._

 _"I would love that too but after seeing what you go through I hope I haven't done that to you again," Rick told her seriously._

 _"We'll see," Kate replied simply before she turned her head. "For now, we'll be more careful. Do you have any more?"_

 _"Yes, but not many," Rick replied. "I can get more."_

 _"Please do," Kate told him firmly. She laughed softly as he brushed his hands over her sides; that always tickled her; and reached back to stop him before she said, "Would you like to."_

 _"Not right now, family's all here and we'll have to make sure they get back to the city," Rick said. "But if I could I would."_

 _"Too bad," Kate replied. They sat for a little longer and she then murmured, "Should we go?"_

 _"I suppose," Rick sighed, letting her go so she could get out first. He followed her, and they dried each other off and dressed as well before going to the bed. "What will you do tomorrow?" he asked her as he watched her remove her robe on her side of their bed._

 _"I don't know, I suppose buy some from the grocer's," Kate said. "We finished the roast."_

 _"I had another idea," Rick told her._

 _"Oh?" Kate asked with a smile._

 _"Would you like to go over to the city with them? We'll go over in the Lizzie and take a look at the club," Rick said as they got into their bed at the same time before he watched her and waited for her to respond._

 _"We can," Kate replied. "Ma will be here with the sedan if the girls need her. Alright… what if we have lunch in Chinatown?"_

 _"I'd prefer if we went over to the Square," Rick said. "Brad told me there's been a lot going on over there."_

 _"Alright," Kate said. She then wrapped her arms around him tightly and kissed him before they parted for air. As he went to her neck she told him, "Careful, you might exhaust your supply."_

 _Laughing; and knowing his wife had meant that to happen; Rick pulled back and said, "Should we just get to bed?"_

 _"Yes," Kate told him simply before kissing his cheek. They laid down and she went to him, pressing her cheek to his shoulder telling him, "It's been ages since we went to the hotel Rick."_

 _"I know," he said quickly, knowing which one she meant. Rick then smiled and said, "If your ma will stay again we can go next week."_

 _"You'll find a room?" Kate asked her with a smile._

 _"I will," Rick said reassuringly. He kissed her forehead and then said, "I'll have an ample supply by then."_

 _"Sap," Kate told him with a laugh before she raised her head enough so they could kiss. It was short and when she was lying down again she told him, "I love you."_

 _"I love you Kate," Rick replied before they kissed one more time._

* * *

"And that's all I can see," Castle told his wife.

"It's sweet," Beckett said. "A nice romance."

"Yeah, there aren't any more crimes that I can see," Castle replied. He then smiled and said, "But I don't think we needed that."

"And we won't need them here for the next few months," Beckett said. "We have them in our books of course. But I never wrote with you?"

"I think you might have after… maybe during the war effort," Rick replied. "And I get vague ideas of things past that memory I just had now but I never fought."

"Of course not; your knee," Beckett said. "Wait, if it was a past life why was your knee injured too?"

"It was," Castle said simply, not surprised she was trying to find a way to explain both their memories as a dream though she was essentially seeing the same.

"Alright," Beckett said with a slight sigh.

"Try and remember something," Castle said suddenly. When she just looked at him he told her, "Anything."

Sighing Beckett looked at the fireplace across from their bed for a while before she said, "On Eliza's birthday later that year we went to the city and got her an easel… she was a painter."

"She was, I think really good," Castle said, nodding his head. "And not just an easel, brushes and-"

"Paints and charcoals," Beckett said. "Plus a private teacher."

"Yeah, we… did what we could for them," Castle added. He watched with a smile as his wife yawned and he said, "You should get some rest."

"You too," Beckett replied. When he nodded she leaned over and kissed him on the lips before he held her close and kissed her the second time. Before they slowly parted she murmured against his lips, " _Beidh mé gur mhaith leat go luath_ ," telling him she would want him soon.

" _Is gá dom duit i gcónaí_ ," Castle replied, telling her he needed her always.

" _Gcónaí_ ," Beckett said, repeating the word always. She let him pull her close before they were kissing hungrily, grasping at one another as tight as they could until finally they parted and just looked at each other.

Castle didn't say anything; instead he lowered his hand to her abdomen where he pressed it gently to the side before he spoke. "This… I think I know how many we've had at most in the past; not just that life," he told her carefully.

"I do too," Beckett said. When her husband looked at her in surprise she sighed and told him, "I just…"

"No that's alright, you can just let me know if I've got this right," Castle said quickly as he could tell she was becoming uncomfortable and he didn't want her to be. "Eight," he said. "That's not including Julia."

"So… nine… I…" Beckett began to say before she nodded once. "But this time."

"Oh no, two is enough," Castle said quickly. "But I'm still going to wish Alexis could have been ours."

"Me too," Beckett said softly, feeling a little weird about that but knowing her stepdaughter did feel the same in a way. "Let's get some sleep love," she then said to draw his attention back to them wanting to get some sleep.

Nodding Castle followed her in moving to lie down but he didn't do so fully, instead reaching for her pajama shirt and lifting it over her abdomen. He leaned down and began to kiss at it gently, hoping that the baby might start kicking.

Laughing softly Beckett placed her fingers a little above her navel, indicating to her husband where their baby was. When he raced there she said, "She might have been waiting to see if we were going to move her too much."

"Maybe," Castle said, smiling widely before he gently kissed at the skin where he'd felt the baby kicking. He then moved away enough so he could say, "We're getting some rest tonight little one. And I promise your mom won't be running around for work until after you're born. We're getting ready to have you here with us." He looked up at his wife and told her, "I can't wait."

"Neither can I," Beckett said with a smile. She was going to say more but he moved up to her and she shared a deep kiss with him before they exchanged two more very quick ones. "But we do have some things to look forward to."

"I remember," Castle said quickly, lying next to her and wrapping his arm around her as she pressed against his side. "The ball coming up first on Valentine's Day."

"Hmm, which we'll spend with the kids," Beckett replied. She then said, "But why is the school having a teacher conference day? They know what holiday it is."

"I asked David and he said that was the best they could schedule it," Castle told her. "Some of the teachers are going to be gone for a big conference in Chicago; they're representing the school; so they had the day that day."

"Did any other parents protest?" Beckett asked.

"David said they got some calls but when they were told it was the best they could do that seemed to quiet them down," Castle answered as he covered them both. "Though I get the feeling it was the fact that they're representing the school that did it."

"That might help," Beckett said with a soft laugh. "And then there's Julia's birthday."

"That'll be great," Castle told her quickly.

With a smile Beckett nodded and then told him, "And after is our Spring Break."

"I cannot wait for that," Castle replied. "But Kate-"

"Shh," Beckett said with a smile. "I know you're worried about me, but we went to the city when I was almost eight and a half months. This time I'll be just barely eight."

"I love you," Castle said suddenly and seriously, looking at her.

With a tender smile Beckett replied, "I love you too." They kissed and after they parted she told him, "But I'll be careful."

"Part of why I love you," Castle said. He laughed softly with his wife and they kissed once more before they settled down to sleep.

Feeling the warmth around them Beckett was soon relaxing in her husband's arms, asleep swiftly as she gave into her fatigue as she was dreaming of what her husband had told her that night and reliving it vividly to her enjoyment.

* * *

 _Cutting through the water Castle found what he was looking for when a boat suddenly appeared in front of him. "Kate!" he yelled as he saw something wrapped in plastic. A second later he saw the person holding it was Coupe and he tried to climb out onto the boat when the body; knowing it was his wife; splashed into the water._

 _Leaping in Castle just managed to grasp his wife's arm when she slipped through his fingers. "Kate!" he yelled as loudly as he could before he ducked underneath to go after her. But once he could see her through the dark water he knew he couldn't get to her, still reaching for her and seeing her swallowed up by the darkness to his absolute horror._

 _"_ Rick _," a voice cut through to him then. "_ Rick come back to me _."_

 _"Kate?" Castle breathed out heavily. "Please…"_

"Come on Rick, wake up," Beckett said in concern as she was shaking her husband's shoulder firmly. When his eyes opened, and she saw the look of terror in his blue pools, she said, "It's me, I'm alright."

Pushing himself up Castle grabbed his wife as tightly as he could before he said, "That dream again."

"I had a feeling," Beckett said gently as she caressed the back of his head. She felt him shaking and for a moment thought he was trembling when she realized that he was crying quietly. "Rick," she breathed out, pulling away from him so she could look at him. She saw the tears on his cheeks and gently thumbed them away as she felt some of her own spill onto her face in reaction to him. "It was bad?"

"You were carrying our baby there too," Castle said, calming down so he could speak. He leaned over and did his best to brush away her tears with his lips before he murmured to her, "You were… both gone."

At the heavy shake in his voice Beckett embraced him tightly and kissed around the side of his face a little wildly at first before she told him, "I'm here Rick, we both are." She grabbed his hand and placed it down on her abdomen though the baby wasn't moving. "You-" she began to say.

"No, I have to tell you," Castle said. "It was Coupe and… he looked just like he did when he was holding you. That's why I offered myself; I was seeing Rizzio again… You weren't conscious, but I told you he was aiming for the baby and I never got that out of my mind. And it happened again."

"I know love, but I won't be working again for a long time," Beckett reassured him. She placed his other hand on her abdomen and said, "And I will make sure our little one is born safe."

"I'll do what I can too," Castle said earnestly. When his wife slightly smiled he couldn't help himself and leaned down kissing her tenderly on the lips before they parted slowly. He was going to speak when he couldn't stop himself and he leaned down to her, kissing her a little harder. When they slowly parted a longer time later he was startled when she told him to turn on the lights. "Kate we-" he said worriedly.

"It's alright," Beckett interrupted him with a smile. She then took off her shirt and pulled for the bottom of his. "I was dreaming of us Rick," she told him once he helped her get his shirt off. She pressed her breasts against his chest and then licked at the lobe of his ear once before murmuring into it, "And I want to feel you now, I shouldn't have made us wait."

"You still… need… rest…" Castle tried to say as she kissed him hungrily and quickly. "Kate," he let out in a heavy groan as he grabbed her to hold her tightly to him. They kissed passionately that time and he carefully laid her on her back before he pulled away and said, "You saw what I meant?"

"Hmm, I did, you were on top of me, fucking me so hard I was screaming," Beckett began. "Good thing we were alone. And then I was on you trying to take you so deep in me you wouldn't be able to move." She felt him begin to shudder before she whispered to him, " _Éirí de thalamh acu mo chuid éadaigh leannán_."

Shaking, as hearing her say 'take off my clothes lover' was as good in Irish as in English, Castle kissed her as hard as he possibly could instead of doing what she'd asked. But finally, he got a hold of himself and told her, " _Lig dom a ghlacadh tú crua mo bandia_."

Her breathing speeding up at her husband asking her to let him take her hard, ending with the phrase my goddess, Beckett found she couldn't speak as her husband removed her pants and panties together and she stopped him. "We don't need protection, but the door would be nice," she said as he looked startled.

"Right," Castle said, starting to get up.

"Wait," Beckett told him, reaching for the waistband of his pants. "Take those off."

"You're lucky the door's closed," Castle said teasingly before he took off the pants and his boxers. He knew his wife wanted to watch him and he wasn't surprised when she was leaning on the headboard as he turned from locking the door. "I'd call you perverted but I'm glad you enjoy the view."

"As long as you enjoy this one," Beckett replied, moving so he would be able to see her.

"I love it," Castle told her seriously before he went to her and kissed her as hard as he could. He was on his knees on the mattress but didn't want to move until his wife was pulling back slightly and bringing her on top of him. Getting her command with that he entered her rapidly as she was telling him to hurry. With her begging him to fuck her he was driving into her as hard as he could and completely forgetting what he had seen in his nightmare.

Beckett, driven by pleasure to tell her husband what he was making her feel the best she could, soon was holding onto him before he moved around so she was on top of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck while she bounced the best she could on him. She was poised to fall over the edge when she stopped suddenly and then brought him down to her breasts.

"I love you Kate," Castle couldn't help breathing out as he went down to her chest hungrily. He proceeded to suck at her nipples a little wildly, feeling his wife cry his name as she shifted around on him repeatedly before she began to rock against him. "Kate," he said, his voice strangled as she sped up very quickly.

"I love you too Rick!" Beckett managed to cry out before she was climaxing herself, her nails scraping over his husband's back as he followed her a second later. They called one another's names until she stopped first, leaning against him before she sighed and was about to speak when she realized he was whispering. "Rick?" she asked him, looking down at him.

Though he was at first saying her name Castle was compelled to tell her with a slight groan, "Do you know how much you mean to me?"

"Do you know how much you mean to me?" Beckett replied, looking seriously at him. "I was terrified when Coupe took you, if I could have run after you both he wouldn't have gotten far."

"I know," Castle said, having her get off him carefully before he had her lay down and joined her, covering them both. "That's why I had you yelling in my mind to wait until he was thinking he could get away to spring my trap on him."

"Trap?" Beckett asked with a smile.

"My leg," Castle replied. "I tripped him."

"I taught you well," Beckett said, still smiling. When her husband pulled her closer to him she then said, "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, thank you," Castle began. "And it's not just you but the girls; this one."

Smiling as her husband gently placed his hand on her abdomen Beckett simply kissed him as they held on tightly to each other.

"You really did dream of us while everyone was downtown didn't you?" Castle asked once they'd parted as they pressed tightly against one another for warmth though they were pleasantly so.

"I did, you don't mind I started that do you?" Beckett asked, looking at him.

"No, I don't," Castle replied simply. "I wanted it too."

"Will you be alright sleeping?" Beckett asked after she had kissed him gently.

"Yes, you?" Castle asked quickly.

"Yes," Beckett replied. "Goodnight my love."

"Goodnight love," Castle told her, leaning down so he could kiss her deeply. They lingered, ending up kissing another three times before they stopped and relaxed on the bed again with him holding her as close as he could before she closed her eyes and he followed her a second later.

The two began to sleep then, taking the chance to rest after the nightmare and their lovemaking. But luckily what stuck with the two was the aftermath of their furious intimacy. The feel of their bodies throbbing together satisfied them and made them want much more of one another even as they found their repose together, dreaming of the other while they slept through the rest of the night peacefully and deeply.


	26. My Heart Can Stay With My Love

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I was happy, as usual, to get the feedback I did for the last chapter so will get straight to my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (I'm really pleased to see you thought the first half was a great chapter and good writing as well. And with the second half I'm glad you thought that had good alone time for Castle and Beckett. I'm happy to know you still like the flashbacks to their past life since that might be coming up more, lol),

MsNYC (Very pleased of course to read first off that you thought the chapter was great. And I'm so glad that you think the flashbacks about their past lives were awesome since I love writing those, lol. And that you thought they were just fantastic too. Happy to read that you thought it was great writing as usual again!),

Mb (Nice to read that you thought the first half was a very sweet and loving update. And I'm happy of course that you loved how I had them going out to dinner with their friends and it being so natural, the same with all the kids too. You're right, those kinds of moments are the kind everyone can relate to as well as treasure since I do as well with my closest friends and family, like you said it fits something everyone does with their closest friends and family, so I agree with you there. I'm not surprised that you too were wondering what was going on with Skye and that explosion so you're welcome. And not surprised that you weren't in the fact that Skye stepped up to help; as you put it; when the plane overshot the runway. And it made me laugh to see you think she's just like Castle and Beckett in the fact that trouble finds them all, lol, but you make a good point. Nice to see you thought it was great filler update. And you're very welcome for posting! So happy to read that you thought the second half was fantastic and beautifully written as well. I'm really glad that you loved the flashback of them with all four of their daughters in the late 30's. And I'm glad that you see how they are in present time loving their children and family. And that Castle and Beckett were still in lust in love, always which I am trying to convey with them as I think they would really be like that always. Nice to see you love that while Beckett's still a little uncomfortable with the past lives idea and the abilities she and the girls have with the dreams and memories she's having she's believing them to be true. And yeah, she is knowing I don't know if she's at the point where she would admit it out loud just yet, lol, but you're right about that of course. Not surprised that your heart hurt for Castle when he had that nightmare since you're right, that's one of his worst fears losing Beckett and the baby. But yeah, with his desire for family I thought that would be his worst fear losing anyone in his family and anyone that he cares for and loves. And yeah, had to have Beckett there for him to soothe him after that nightmare and of course her own too though I had her focusing on him at that moment. But you're right, Beckett's worst fears definitely mirror Castle's and I also agree with what you said about the fact that together with their love they'll always prevail over those fears. So pleased to read you thought it was wonderfully written. And definitely Caskett and family always. You're very welcome for sharing this second half!) and

vetgirlmx (Great to see you though the chapter was very nice. And nice to see too you thought they had a really good dinner spending time with all of their friends on a weekday. That last bit made me laugh but you were right that it was needed since they had a lot to celebrate as you said. I wasn't surprised that Skye and Mary trying to adopt Fleur was a big surprise or how they met her, I figured that would be for readers and I see I was right, lol. But glad I could surprise you since I left that up in the air with the phone call they had, lol. Not surprised you're sure they'll get to adopt her but really glad that you're rooting for them and you'll see how that'll go of course! I was really pleased to see that you loved Castle's memory and how Beckett remembered it too hearing that. And I'm not surprised that you see her having trouble saying it's a past life though you see her really believing that that happened. Hard not to see that when you're recalling yourself of course so good point. Seeing that you weren't surprised that Castle was having nightmares after that day was something I expected, actually from you and other readers. But not surprised you're hoping that being home will help him stop having them and it might. So glad you can't wait to see what happens next, to read more, and now you don't need to wait to find out!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them and I'm grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _My Love_ by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Paul McCartney and Wings album _Red Rose Speedway_.

My Heart Can Stay With My Love

"Are you excited?" Julia asked her sister eagerly.

"Yeah, are you too?" Eliza replied.

"Yep, I can't wait to see Mommy's dress," Julia said.

"Will she hide her tummy?" Eliza then said thoughtfully.

"No, she can't do that she's a little bit bigger now," Julia explained. "But I bet it won't be out on the dress so that's all you see."

"Yeah… I want to see it," Eliza said with a sigh.

Julia was about to speak when she paused as they both heard someone moving around in the kitchen. When her sister looked at her with wide eyes she smiled and told her, "It's Daddy, he's making breakfast for Mommy."

"Yay," Eliza said before they got off the bed together. Before they got to the door she grabbed her sister's arm and told her, "But doesn't he want to give it to Mommy alone?"

"He can, we can go over to Gram," Julia explained. When her little sister nodded she took her hand and pulled her outside and down the stairs.

Seeing something out of the corner of his eye Castle turned his head and smiled when he saw his daughters coming down to him. "Good morning you two," he told them as they neared him.

"Happy Valentine's Day Daddy," Eliza said first before she ran to him to hug him tightly.

"Thank you, tell your mom that too when we take this in to her," Castle replied.

"Don't you want to take that to her by yourself?" Julia asked slowly as she and her sister shared a look.

"We'll be alone later tonight," Castle said simply.

"At the hotel?" Eliza asked eagerly.

"At the hotel," Castle said with a smile. He then turned his attention back to the eggs he was preparing, doing so quickly before he told them, "Are you two excited for the museum?"

"Yeah, I don't remember it that much Daddy," Julia said first.

"Me neither," Eliza added.

"You never went before," Julia said, trying not to sigh.

"Oh… kay, I can go now?" Eliza asked their father.

"We will very soon," Castle promised them. "Okay, let's get this in to your mother so we can do that," as he'd been hurrying to finish the simple meal his wife had requested the night before. He smiled when the girls eagerly agreed and together they went into his and Beckett's bedroom with him leading the way to his wife's side of the bed. He looked down at her with a smile as she lay on her side, the covers over her still revealing her nearly six and a half month pregnant abdomen. He was about to wake her up when he saw she was moving, lying on her back and then opening her eyes to look up at them.

"Good morning," Beckett said, smiling at her husband. Her attention then went to their daughters behind him and she carefully pushed herself up so she could tell them, "Good morning you two."

"Happy Valentine's Day Mommy!" the girls said together before their father ushered them over to the bed with his free hand.

Waiting for them to climb up on top of it with her Beckett embraced them tightly as soon as she could. "Happy Valentine's Day you two, I'm guessing you want to go to the museum?"

"Yes, please." "Yeah!" Julia and then Eliza told their mother.

Laughing softly Beckett said, "And we will as soon as your daddy gives me the breakfast he made for all of us."

Julia pulled her sister out of the way quickly before they moved to look at Castle as he set down the tray on their mother's lap.

Before her husband could get too far away Beckett grabbed the front of his pajama shirt and pulled him close so they could kiss. "That's for this," she told him with a smile as she picked up the delphinium that was on the tray.

"You're wel-" Castle began before his wife pulled him to her for yet another kiss. "Morning," he said when they soon after parted.

"Morning love," Beckett told him with a smile before she then watched him go around to the other side of the bed. She quickly began to dish out the eggs for her husband before she made one more dish for Julia to hold for herself and her sister. The bowls of oatmeal she left on the tray and once they were all prepared to their liking they began to eat together silently. "What about your mother?" she asked her husband as her mother in law came to her mind abruptly.

"I left her a plate and bowl," Castle said. "She'll have something to eat."

"Should we go eat with her?" Julia asked as she let Eliza take the fork so she could eat some eggs.

"No, no, stay with us," Beckett told them before she paused.

"Kicking?" Castle asked as they all looked over at her.

"Yes," Beckett said. "Swimming too," she told him as she rubbed her abdomen. "Ah, a little too hard sweetie," she said to the baby after another kick.

"Yeah, not too hard Mommy is eating," Eliza said directly into her mother's stomach though her words were muffled by Beckett's top.

"I don't know if she'll understand you if you do that sweetheart," Castle said, trying not to outright laugh at her.

"Oh, Mommy is eating now," Eliza then said before she got some oatmeal and ate it eagerly.

"I think we need to get them to the museum," Beckett told her husband.

"I think so," Castle said before they continued to eat until they'd finished and he was taking everything on the tray to the kitchen quickly so they could go out into the city they were visiting for that weekend. He smiled as behind him he could hear his wife and daughters talking together while they went upstairs to the girls' room, hurrying to clean up so he could join them as he suddenly wanted to badly. He was able to do that and he then turned to race up the steps to the sound of his wife and their daughters laughing together in the room.

"What else do we see?" Eliza asked her sister as she was letting their grandmother brush her hair.

"Stuff," Julia said.

"I'll get that," Martha said to the knock on the door before Eliza could protest what her sister had said.

"Good morning Mother," Castle said when he saw she had opened the door.

"Good morning," Martha replied. "I heard you gave Kate only one flower; so strange for you I wonder if you're feeling well."

"I asked him to," Beckett called out as her husband opened his mouth to speak.

"She asked me to," Castle told his mother when she turned back to him.

"Now I'm very worried," Martha said jokingly as her son walked into the room past her. She waved her hand to him when he gave her a look and said, "Hurry there's a lot to see and I'm sure you want Eliza to see as well."

"Is Gram in a hurry?" Julia asked as Martha had spoken most of that while she walked down the hall to her room.

"Most likely," Beckett said. "But she is right there is a lot to see and we need to go."

"Mommy what about you?" Julia asked as her mother finished braiding her hair. "That museum is super big."

"I know it is," Beckett replied, trying to keep serious though she was fighting a smile at her daughter's wording. "But there are benches and I'll be careful."

"Me too," Eliza said.

"Thank you, girls," Beckett said, having to bite the side of her mouth to keep from laughing at how serious both were.

"I'll keep an eye on her too if you want me to," Castle commented as their daughters were hugging her. When Beckett shot him a look he merely looked back at her before he saw her shoulders slightly slump and he was quick to say, "You two should head down, get your coats so we can leave as soon as your gram is ready and your grandpapa is here." He watched the two leave quickly and then turned to his wife, waiting for the inevitable.

"I know there's a lot of walking but-" Beckett began.

"There is, and I said that so they wouldn't spend the whole time watching you," Castle interrupted her easily. "I know already you're going to sit when you need to, but I'll have a hard time not watching out for you."

"That I can accept," Beckett said easily. "And for now, we need to change ourselves."

"After you," Castle said, holding out his arm. He followed her downstairs, not surprised to see their daughters were at the windows and had their shoes on. "We'll be in our room girls," he called to them.

When they merely waved Beckett was trying not to laugh again, and she hurriedly went into the bedroom before she said, "This will be interesting."

"Very since Eliza has no idea what's at the museum yet," Castle commented as he grabbed his clothes. "And Julia's not telling her anything."

"Then she's obviously going off her sister's excitement," Beckett replied as she threw on her sweater last. She went to brush her hair quickly and when she was finished she left just ahead of her husband, seeing the girls were still at the window. "Are you two ready?" she asked them.

"Yes!" Julia said eagerly as her sister just squealed.

"Get your coats," Castle said though he was picking up Eliza's where it was on the couch next to her sister's.

"Are we gonna walk?" the little girl asked.

"I think we should take a cab," Beckett said, giving her husband a confused look.

Shrugging, as he didn't know why their youngest had forgotten about them talking about Beckett needing to be careful, Castle helped Eliza into her coat. "It's a little cold to walk," he told her.

"Oh," the little girl replied.

"We'll still get to-" Beckett began as she saw her mother in law coming down the stairs before a knock on the door cut her off. She followed the girls as they ran to it and quickly checked to see it was her father before she opened the door.

"Good-" Jim began before he was staggering back slightly when his granddaughters threw themselves at him. "Morning," he finished, laughing at the same time.

"Let him inside you two," Castle said.

"No, I'm ready to go," Jim said quickly. "And I can tell they are too so we should head out."

"We're ready," Beckett said as Julia and Eliza turned to her and Castle.

"So am I," Martha said when the two looked at her next. "It can't be cabin fever," she said to her son as she adjusted her scarf.

"No, excitement which is close enough," Castle replied. He went to Eliza and picked her up before they made their way down to the lobby and out in front of the building where there was a cab already. He gave the museum name before they set off and he said to his wife as they were sitting with their youngest in the middle, "Do you have a plan of attack?"

"I do, and that plan is go back tomorrow," Beckett replied.

"Oh… why didn't I think of that?" Castle asked himself.

Beckett rolled her eyes but didn't respond as she needed to answer Eliza's question of what was at the museum. Luckily they weren't much further from it and once they were there she watched the little girl stare up with wide eyes at the building.

"You saw it before," Julia said, standing next to her sister.

"I think it's because she's going inside this time," Castle told the girl.

"I guess," Julia said.

"Sweetie, I know your sister is a little strange like this," Beckett said, holding her daughter back as the rest of their family headed to the steps. "But remember she's only four-"

"Almost five," Julia interrupted.

"And that means she's still growing up," Beckett said gently. "So try and have a little patience."

"Sorry," Julia said with a sigh. "It's just really weird though I never was annoyed before."

"It's because you're growing up," Beckett said as she put her arm around her and they went together after the others to the entrance.

"Mommy can we really come back tomorrow?" Julia asked as they walked inside.

Since she was watching Eliza at the same time Beckett only nodded to her daughter's question, smiling as the little girl's mouth dropped open at the sight of the hall they'd come into.

"Look Lizzy," Julia told her little sister, taking her hand quickly.

"Who is that?" Eliza asked, looking ahead of them at the statue of a man on a bench.

"Remember the movie?" Castle asked her.

"Oh, that's…" Eliza started to say before looking at her father.

"Theodore Roosevelt," Castle replied.

"Yeah… Can I go sit with him?" Eliza asked hopefully. When her parents nodded she rushed to the bench the statue of the president was on and climbed up. "Hello," she said to it. "I like your…"

"The National Parks," Castle supplied quickly.

"Yeah, those," Eliza said with a nod. She saw Julia climbing up on the other side and asked, "Mommy's taking a picture?"

"Yeah, say cheese," the girl replied before they looked over at their mother and smiled at the same time while she was taking the picture.

"There they are," Castle said, looking behind them.

"All at once?" Martha asked. "Or one family waited for the other," she commented as the Davises and Fosters were walking inside.

"At least they made it," Beckett said as she hurried over to her friend.

"We're late aren't we," Lily said laughingly as she hugged Beckett tightly.

"No," she replied before they parted. "We haven't been here that long either."

"How does she like it?" Lily asked while Beckett embraced Rebecca quickly next.

"So far a lot," Castle said as they were all gathered together by then.

"And it looks like Dani too," David added as he was watching his youngest daughter that he was holding.

"We should get going," Castle commented.

"We're only going through two floors, right?" Brad asked.

"We'll go through the rest tomorrow," Beckett said with a nod. As they began to head over to the nearest stairs she said to Lily, "I never got the chance to ask you, how'd you do with getting another gown?"

"Just managed it," the woman replied. "Luckily there are a lot of high waisted dresses out there that I could fit into." Lily saw that Beckett was nodding and she smiled saying, "You had the same issue?"

"Yes, but it wasn't really an issue," Beckett replied before she looked at her husband once they were on the first floor as he waited for her to reach him.

"How are we going to go around?" Castle asked his wife.

"How we usually go," Beckett replied with a shrug. "I don't think they would mind if we led."

"You know we're standing right here," Brad said, coming up to stand next to his friend. "And that's fine since it's been years since I was last here."

"For me too," Lily said. "And of course, our kids haven't been here either."

"We-" Beckett began to say.

"No, it's understandable you figure Jake and Eve would have been here already," Lily said quickly as they began to walk over to the first hall. "And they're interested so far."

"What's this?" Eve was asking Julia and Mari as they came to the first hall.

"Hall of Biodiversity," Castle said quickly to his daughter's questioning glance.

"Different animals?" Jacob asked slowly.

"Different animals," Eliza echoed. "See?" she told him, pointing out the different models of animals there were in the distance.

Walking together at first the families soon parted from each other and were going through the different sections until they met at the beginning of the next.

"That was kinda sad," Eve commented.

"Yeah but this one is nice," Julia said, pointing above them.

"Wow… what's that?" Jake asked as he and his sister looked up at the model above.

"A blue whale," Mari said, looking over at her sister.

"It's really big," Eliza said in wonder. She then looked for her father and finding him grabbed onto his hand, tugging it and asking, "Pick me up Daddy?"

"I don't think you'll be able to reach it," Castle said in amusement.

"Oh," Eliza said, looking disappointed. She then looked near them and gasped before she tried to hide behind her father.

"It's alright," Castle said quickly. "They're not alive."

"Aren't they cool?" Julia asked, going over to her and taking her hand. "You never saw them before."

"Good thing she's here," Beckett commented as she walked up to her husband.

"I know but weird, why would walruses scare her?" Castle asked.

"Have you seen their tusks Richard?" Martha asked him in passing.

"She's right," Beckett said with a slight smile as her husband looked at her. "They would do that if you didn't expect them. But she looks like she's enjoying it now," she added as they then walked together down to the next diorama.

Walking through the other dioramas Castle and Beckett rejoined their daughters as they were observing a whale trying to eat a giant squid, looking at the two together.

"Who is eating who Mommy?" Eliza asked, looking up at her.

"The whale's trying to get the squid," Julia answered before their mother could answer.

"Oh… ew," Eliza said, wrinkling her nose. She sighed and said, "They stopped though."

"Just think of them as being on pause," Castle suggested.

Beckett shook her head before she took Julia's hand and they walked together through the rest of the hall before they again rejoined the others. The next hall, about North American forests, was walked through quickly though she wasn't surprised when both girls stopped at the slice of a Sequoia before she and Castle did as well.

"Take a picture Mommy!" Eliza said eagerly, turning to her mother.

"Hold on," Beckett said, checking her settings before she took a shot of the girls standing in front of the tree. "When we go to California we'll take you there sweetie."

"Again," Castle added.

"I was just going to say that," Beckett said, looking at her husband.

"Sorry," Castle said quickly before they were walking on. Eventually; since he'd stayed with her; he took her hand and said, "The Discovery Room?"

Shaking her head Beckett said, "We'd need to pass it."

"Would we? Most of the kids here are under twelve," Jim said, pausing at the doorway to the next hall.

"We don't really have the time," Castle replied.

"But we'll be walking through it," Beckett said. "And we can see if Eliza… wants to go there," she continued, finishing slowly as their youngest came up to them.

"I can see it Mommy," the little girl replied. She smiled at her parents and said, "Jules told me that you can do stuff like at school but there's lots more to get to see."

"So I guess you want to see more?" Castle asked.

"Yeah," Eliza said eagerly before she let him pick her up. When they went to the hall attached to the Discovery Room she said in wonder, "What are they Daddy?"

"These are from the Northwest Coast Indians," Castle replied. "This is their artwork."

"These are really cool," Jacob was saying to Julia, Mari and Eve who he was standing with.

"I know," Mari said first. "They're not just here in America though."

"Nope," Julia said with a smile as her friend was looking at her for that. "In Canada on the same side of the country."

"Are you going to go there too?" Eve asked.

Laughing softly Julia opened her mouth to speak when she jumped as her mother put her hand on her shoulder. "Oh… Mommy will we see these?" she asked quickly.

"Your daddy wants to go to Canada so yes, we likely will," Beckett replied. When all four kids said the word cool at the same time she laughed and followed them down through the hall again.

Going through the Hall of Human Origins after the group came to the halls relating to meteorites, minerals and gems. At the Hall of Minerals, they all stopped together in front of the huge slab of azurite and malachite with blues, purples and greens standing out on it. It took little time for Julia to start talking about the story of the stone; though some of them had heard it before; and the fact that it would 'sing.'

"But it didn't," Julia finally said before she looked at her father.

Castle quickly explained how moisture in the old room the stone was kept in would make it sound like it was singing as it was dried before he said, "They control the atmosphere in here now so it doesn't do that anymore."

"Still pretty," Mari said before they were all laughing together and moving on.

Going through the rest of the hall the group met up again to go into the Hall of Gems when Castle, Beckett, Martha and Jim looked over at Julia as they paused there and waited for the girl to speak as she beamed at them.

"What do you want me to do? Run inside of there?" Julia asked them.

"No, are you going to guide us?" Castle asked.

"No," Julia said, shaking her head. "I think they can read themselves."

"Stay with us," Beckett said quickly as she knew why her daughter had said that.

"She's right, I think we'll get to see everything you want to," Jim replied.

"I will," Julia said with an exaggerated sigh. She laughed when her father ruffled her hair and they walked together over to the first display before they went around. She took as many pictures as she could; though she'd seen them before; and sighed when they stopped at some sapphires.

"You like them?" Castle asked her.

"Yeah," Julia said before something came to her. "Oh, but you don't have to get that for me or anything Daddy."

"Are you sure?" Castle asked her with a smile.

"Rick," Beckett said simply. "He's kidding sweetie," she told their oldest. "Let's keep going."

Trying not to sigh again; as her gaze was lingering on the blue sapphires; Julia walked with her parents over to another display before she saw Mari was watching her. She smiled quickly at her friend and then turned to look at the Star of India they were coming up to.

That hall took a little longer for the group to go through until they walked back together to the hall that was next to the café where they would be eating. As they started to go through Mari had joined Julia and while they looked at the display of a cougar she spoke.

"Did you like those sapphires?" the little girl asked.

With a smile Julia said, "They were so pretty but I told my parents they didn't need to get me any."

Watching while her friend touched her emerald pendant Mari said, "You could make that a bracelet."

"Yeah but I can't wear a sapphire with it," Julia said. "But… my mom has two different necklaces when she wears dresses. I guess I could do that too, but I don't want to ask for it, I'll have to wait and see if they give me it." When Mari began to open her mouth, she shook her head and then told her, "It's okay, for now let's go see how our sisters like the bear." She smiled when her friend laughed and nodded before they went hand in hand together over to the diorama where their families were.

When they'd finally managed to get their kids away from the last diorama of wolves in front of a backdrop of the Northern lights they went together over to the Starlight Café before they ordered for their kids; Martha and Jim staying with them.

"Enough please," Beckett was saying to her husband as they stepped forward in line a little more.

"Kate-" Castle began though he knew he should probably stop there as he could tell she was getting angry.

"Rick, I'm fine and I was sitting while we went out to the small mammals really quickly," Beckett nearly snapped at him.

With a sigh Castle opened his mouth to speak when suddenly Brad was cutting in saying, "You two should understand we really want to make sure you're alright as well."

"We know," Beckett and Lily said at the same time before they looked at each other. "Look," the latter said. "We realize it's not just the baby you're worried about but the hovering…"

"We don't know what else we can do," Castle said honestly, not surprised Brad was nodding his head in agreement with him.

"You can do that," Beckett said. "But take it easy with it; that's all we ask."

"They'll still watch us like hawks," Lily commented, smiling so her husband wouldn't think she was too mad at him.

"Oh, I know," Beckett said before the two went ahead of herself and her husband to the register and she turned to Castle to see what he would say after their conversation with them.

"I am sorry but _tá a fhios agat cad is ciall agat dom_ ," Castle replied.

Beckett smiled and told him; in response to his saying she knew what she meant to him; " _I do but you need to remember I want to join you and our baby when we go home_ ," speaking fully in Irish.

Since David and Rebecca were almost finished ahead of them Castle grabbed his wife's hand kissed the back of it firmly until they stepped up to the free register.

While their parents were getting their food ready the kids were talking together about the rest of the museum.

"Come on you have to tell us what's next," Jacob told Julia and Mari.

Glancing at each other and laughing together Julia said first, "We can only say it's not gonna be like the other stuff we saw."

"I think your parents want you to be surprised," Martha commented. "Eliza has no clue where we're going now."

"Nope," the little girl said before she giggled softly. "I'm hungry Gram," Eliza then said before she went over to her.

"I know kiddo, but we need to wait," Martha said, wrapping her arms around her.

"How come our moms didn't sit with us?" Eve said to Castle's mother and Jim, nodding to Julia and pointing at herself.

"Likely they want to prove to your fathers that they're fine," Jim said. "And they probably are."

"Here they come," Mari said as she looked over at the registers and saw their parents were walking over to them.

The group was all talking while the parents sat down with their food and they continued to do so until they had finished and were gathering together at the exit to the café.

"Should we tell them?" Castle asked the girls.

"Yeah," Eliza replied.

"I forgot she doesn't know," Castle said in amusement to his wife.

"You should tell them though," Beckett replied, squeezing his arm.

"Okay, so next is the space part of the museum," Castle replied.

"Great now can we see it?" David asked jokingly.

With some laughter the group headed over to what they were going to see next, Beckett telling them, "This is the Heilbrunn Cosmic Pathway."

"Which is part of the Rose Center for Earth and Space," Castle added.

"Nice, it looks really amazing," Brad said as they were looking at a large sphere. "Wait, I've seen this before. An old postcard my grandfather had and by the way we haven't been here since they changed all of this."

"The Hayden Planetarium and we actually need to go up to the next floor to go to the introduction to this walkway," Castle said quickly.

When they'd reached the 'theater' the group gathered around the bowl in the middle of the room, standing with others around the railing and looking down at the show that was put on there. It was about the big bang theory and the parents watched their kids staring at the show below them with wide eyes.

"How come you were watching like that too?" Eve asked Julia and Mari as they were leaving the theater. "You've seen that already."

"Not for a long time," Julia said first, Mari nodding. "So that was really cool to see again."

"Yeah, and this stuff is cool too," Mari added as they came to the pathway.

"We're so lucky they like science," Brad said, slightly laughingly as they walked behind the kids. "Dani too," he added, looking at David and Rebecca.

"It might be her sister that's making her so eager," the latter said. Rebecca then smiled and said to everyone, "I wonder if-" before she was suddenly cut off by the sound of one of the girls letting out a squeak.

Julia looked at her friends and sister next to her and she shook her head before hurrying down the path until she had reached a tall African American man that was looking at one of the exhibits. "Excuse me," she said a little shyly after a moment's hesitation. When the man had turned to her she said, "Are you…" trailing off as she wasn't sure how to finish that. She then had a furious conversation in her mind with herself thinking, ' _What do I call him? I can't call him Neil that's his first name but maybe I should just call him by his last name_.' Turning her attention to the man she asked, "Mr. Tyson?"

"I am, you know who I am?" the astro-physicist asked.

"Yeah, I saw your show," Julia replied.

" _Cosmos_ ," Castle said as they'd all joined the girl by then.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you," Neil Degrasse Tyson said with a smile before he shook Julia's hand.

"I know you too," Eliza said. "You go on the spaceship."

"I did," the man said with a slight laugh as he then shook all the kids' hands.

The parents and Jim and Martha introduced themselves before Castle and Beckett were about to when Tyson stopped them.

"I know you both already," he told them, shaking their hands. "I was told by a friend that you relied heavily on astronomy in your second book and I had to see how you did."

"Hopefully not too bad," Castle said with a slight smile.

"Oh no you did great," Tyson answered with a laugh. "I'm guessing you did research."

"As much as we could," Beckett said with a smile.

"It's wonderful to meet you," Tyson told them. "And congratulations to you both," he directed to Beckett and Lily. "I have to excuse myself we're getting in some new exhibits here and I want to make sure they're almost ready to go so everyone can get to take a look at them."

"Wow," Eve said when he'd left them. "That was so cool, he was on TV."

"I know," Jacob said. "Should we keep going or stop?"

As everyone laughed at the way the boy was playfully trying to sound serious they continue down the pathway until they had reached the bottom of it, looking through the rest of the area until they made their way back up to the second floor.

* * *

"Daddy?" Eliza asked.

"Yes sweetheart?" Castle replied as he was holding her.

"How come we're going here first?" Eliza then asked.

"Look ahead sweetie," Beckett said with a smile, standing next to her husband.

Turning her head to see what her mother was talking about Eliza gasped when she saw the elephant in front of them. "Elephants!" she cried. It took her a moment to realize that they weren't moving, and she then looked at her father questioningly.

"They're not real," Castle replied, setting her down in front of the formation of African elephants. "Let your mom take a picture of you and your sister in front of this," he then told her.

"Will our sister come so we can take a picture with her?" Julia asked, hurrying over to them from where she'd been standing with her friends.

"Of course, but not for a while," Beckett said, getting her camera ready. She smiled as the sisters wrapped their arms around each other tightly and she was quick to take the shot after that. Once it was set she was about to walk on with the girls when her father's hand touched her shoulder.

"Let me take one of the four of you," Jim told his daughter.

"Alright," Beckett said with a smile before she went with Castle to stand in front of the elephant. She had their daughters stand in front of them and wasn't surprised when her husband wrapped his arm around her. When the picture had been taken she let Castle take her hand and they followed their daughters to the first diorama to the elephants' left.

"Do you know the story about the man who made those elephants Grandpapa?" Julia asked Jim as they were at the last diorama in the room.

"Of course," Beckett's father replied with a smile. "He was charged by an elephant and very seriously hurt. But while he was getting better-"

"He saw elephants walking like that," Julia said smiling widely back at him. "And he made sure he could do that." A frown appeared on her face and she said, "I wish they didn't have to kill them to get them Grandpapa."

"I know but they won't do that now," Jim assured her. "And we need to go, everyone left."

Julia nodded and hurried to her mother who was waiting for them, taking her hand before they walked into the next hall about the people of Africa. She took several pictures going through the items and dioramas there before she thought of something and went over to her mother. "Are the people from South Africa here too?"

"You mean what Trevor is?" Beckett replied with a question. When her daughter nodded she smiled and said, "The Xhosa and no I don't think so. There are so many different tribes in Africa they would need to use the whole building for them."

"That would be cool," Julia said in awe.

Beckett squeezed her daughter's shoulder and said, "We'll see if we can find a museum like that."

"What museum?" Castle asked as he walked over to them with David.

"One just about African people," Beckett answered.

"That would be interesting, you don't know if the city has one?" David asked.

"Maybe," Beckett replied.

"I think there was one, but they closed it and reopened it on Museum Mile," Castle said, looking at his wife.

"The Africa… Center," Beckett began as she recalled the museum.

"I think that's it," Castle replied. "We'll try and check it out," he told Julia who'd been listening to them.

"You guys need to give us a list of these museums," David replied. "We're not natives so you're our best source."

"We use Wikipedia," Beckett said. "We know a lot of the better known ones but that one has a great selection."

"You've never looked at it?" Castle asked while they were continuing after their friends and families.

"No, we just went to ones we knew already or heard about," David said with a shrug. "So now…" he then said as he smiled at Julia who gasped at the hall they were at next. "Wait, you're gasping?"

"She hasn't been here since well before Eliza was born," Beckett explained, smiling herself at his reaction and questioning.

"And she also wants to show her friends," Castle added as Julia had left them and was going to Eve, Jacob and Mari. "And her sister," he added when Eliza had gone over to the group. He looked at his wife as David left them and asked, "Good?"

"I think I should sit," Beckett said honestly though she wondered what he would say to that.

Taking her hand Castle pulled her to where there was a bench in front of one of the dioramas and had her sit first before he joined her. "You really thought I'd rub it in?" he asked her, still holding her hand and entwining their fingers.

"Not exactly that," Beckett replied. "Something along the lines of I told you so."

"Ah," Castle said in understanding. "I would do that," he added. "But then again it's not something I want to do that about." He paused and said, "Does that make sense?"

"Enough sense," Beckett said with a soft laugh before her father came to them. "I'm fine Dad," she quickly said once he was close to her.

"I know, I'm wondering if I can join you," Jim told them. "Richard your daughters are asking for you to come over and tell the others what birds there are."

"I'll be back," Castle said, kissing his wife's cheek before he left them.

"Back for what?" Jim said to his daughter as he sat down himself.

"To escort me," Beckett replied with a tender smile over at Castle who was talking to the girls then. She then shook herself and told her father, "Just to make sure I get up alright."

"As your mother got bigger it terrified me," Jim said. "Every time she stood up I was afraid she'd fall right back. Though she didn't get that big it just looked…"

"Unwieldy?" Beckett suggested. When her father nodded she said, "It will be later but at the moment I'm not doing too badly. Rick just wants to make sure."

Jim smiled, as he knew his daughter wanted to change the subject, and then said, "I hope you'll enjoy the ball tonight."

"Are you wondering about my gown?" Beckett asked him. He nodded, and she smiled herself that time telling him, "You'll see since you're staying there of course."

"I know, I don't think we've had all the kids together like this," Jim replied. "Martha and I."

"Just Eve and Jake," Beckett told him. "And since they're older I don't think it'll be a problem."

"I'll trust you since you've had them all over before," Jim said. He then looked over at the others and stood saying, "I think it's time to go," he told his daughter as she looked at him questioningly.

Seeing her husband was approaching them Beckett took his hand when he offered it and stood before they went together to their daughters. "Did you like it?" Beckett asked Eliza with a smile.

"Yeah, we saw… penguins!" the little girl said happily. "And schools?"

"Skuas," Castle corrected her as they walked out of the hall. "She enjoyed that room."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said with a smile. She then looked at the hall they were at and said, "See where we are now?"

"Oh… where?" Eliza asked, glancing at the objects on display but not sure exactly.

"Mexico and Central America," Castle told her. "And look, some stuff from Jamaica where you've been before."

"Ooh, I see," Eliza said eagerly. She stopped at something her sister and Mari were looking at and then said, "What is it?"

"Don't pick her up," Beckett said quickly as Julia was starting to do that. "She's getting too heavy for you."

"Not for me," Castle said, picking her up. "That's a jug and do you see the corn they made on it."

"Yep," Eliza replied with a smile. She then looked at the rest of the objects in that section before they went to the others and then she gasped. "What's that? A snake?"

"It is," Castle replied as he was still carrying her. "From Mexico."

"Does it do anything?" Eliza asked then.

"No, it says here it's just a statue," Beckett said as she read the plaque that went with it. "It looks very real doesn't it?" She squeezed Eliza's hand with a smile as the little girl nodded and they continued. After a while through that hall she went over to Lily and asked, "How're you doing?"

"Oh, not too bad," the woman replied. "Looks like they reached the sun stone," Lily then said as they could hear the kids gasping in the distance though it was just her kids and Eliza.

"Where is that from?" Eve said.

"That's Aztec," Julia said before looking at her father.

"Yeah, it is," Castle said quickly. "And it's from Mexico too. They say it's a calendar stone but it's not." When he saw that the kids were looking up at him expectantly he smiled and said, "It's for military planning and it's about a victory by the Aztecs over their enemy towns in the Basin of Mexico. And if you're wondering how I know that it says next to it," he said, directing that to the adults around them. "I've seen this before, but I wouldn't be able to remember that."

"He's right," Beckett said with a smile, looping her arm through her husband's as they went past the rest of the displays in the hall. "And now we're on the South American peoples."

"And this is where I'll sit out," Lily said.

Beckett watched her friend being ushered over to the nearest bench by her husband which made her squeeze Castle's arm telling him, "I'll join her."

"Yeah, I'll look around with the kids," he replied, watching her go. He breathed out a little heavily at the slight concern that she needed to sit down herself but then pushed himself to go over to the kids so they could continue before they would need to get ready for the ball. He quickly went to where his daughters were, studying some textiles from the Nazca, hearing Julia explaining the Nazca lines before he prepared himself to help her tell them more about them to the other kids.


	27. My Heart Can Stay With My Love (Part 2)

"I liked the Asian peoples room the best," Eve said.

"Oh I know, I like that one too, it's really nice," Julia replied with a nod. "So what do you think?" she asked her friend as she turned around.

"You have a dome in your city house," Eve told her. "That's so cool."

"I know," Julia said with a soft laugh. "My mom said that the first time she came here that was one of the first things she noticed."

"So where are we going to stay?" Jacob asked.

"Here," Julia said, nodding to the clear space on the rug in the middle of the family room. "A big sleepover."

"Fun," Mari said with a smile. "But I can't wait to see how our moms look."

"Me too," Julia said, repeated by the others. She saw her grandmother was coming down the stairs and said, "Is that for Mommy's costume?"

"It is," Martha said, not surprised her granddaughter had noticed the fabric in her hands. "What do you think?"

"I think that's awesome," Jacob said. "That's for the…"

"The cape that goes over the suit," Martha said before she looked over with the others as Castle came out from his and Beckett's room. "Very nice Richard," she told her son.

"Did Mommy see you?" Julia asked.

"Not yet," Castle replied with a smile. "I'm waiting for her."

"You were trying to peek!" Eliza said, jumping against him with a giggle.

"I may have," Castle said before the kids all started to laugh. "But I wanted to check on you guys; I didn't know you were here Mother," he said to them and then Martha.

"Richard please go," she told her son. "You're going to make all of us anxious with your pacing."

Sighing Castle said, "Kate told me that when I said I was going to come out here. We'll come out when we're finished." He went back into the bedroom, closing the door behind him before he called towards the bathroom, "I'm back love, you were right."

"I'm almost ready," Beckett said with an obvious smile.

Castle sat down on his wife's side of the bed, settling in to wait before he heard the door opening and jumped up not knowing what his reaction would be once he finally saw her as she was beginning to step out into view.

"I wasn't expecting that," Beckett said teasingly to her husband when she had reached him, his body frozen.

"Neither was I," Castle said, finally able to speak and move. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her hard, knowing she was expecting that as all her makeup was on except for her lipstick. When they slowly parted finally he said, "I have your first gift."

"Oh?" Beckett asked as they'd already exchanged the gifts at home before they'd gone out to the city the day before.

"Yeah," Castle said, reluctantly letting go of her and going over to the dresser. He pulled something out of the drawer on the top and turned to her saying, "I never really get you this much, but I saw this and it was screaming for me to buy it for you."

Beckett was a little unsure of his gift; knowing what it was already; but as he pulled the lid off the thing box she was gasping briefly. "Rick-" she started to say.

"It's a little… decadent I guess is the word I want to use," Castle interrupted. "But-" And that time he was interrupted as his wife was throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him hard. He groaned but wrapped his free arm around her, balancing the jewelry set he'd bought for her on his hand the best he could as their tongues were dueling together hungrily for some time. Finally they parted, and he said a little breathlessly, "I guess I know now what you think."

"You do," Beckett said in amusement as she ran her thumb along his lower lip. She then let go of him so he could put the necklace on her while she stood in front of the mirror. As the double strand of pearls went around her neck she touched the oval shaped aquamarine pendant that hung from the bottom strand. "It is beautiful," she said. "And thank you for not getting me an enormous aquamarine."

"It wouldn't have fit you," Castle said as she turned to him after he had closed the clasp around her. He smiled and said, "You look great."

"I'm not finished though," Beckett said, going to the earrings which were clusters of seed pearls with a smaller oval aquamarine handing from them. And last she set on the bracelet, alternating pearls and blue stones before she turned to her husband, waiting to see his reaction or hear it as she watched him opening his mouth to begin to speak.

Castle tried to think of something, anything, he could say in Irish or English but for the moment nothing came to mind and instead he just pulled her carefully into his arms. He held her tightly before he leaned down slightly so he could kiss her, and he kept it very gentle and sweet. When he finally pulled away he told her, " _Tú breathnú consúil le bandia_ ," saying she looked like a goddess.

With a smile Beckett reached up to her husband's bow tie for his tuxedo and straightened it before she told him, " _Nach bhfuil tú ag breathnú féin ró-olc_."

"Thank you," Castle said, smiling himself. "I clean up nice," he added as she'd told him he didn't look too bad himself. "Can I…?" he started to ask.

"One more," Beckett said before they were kissing and deeply. She clung to him tightly before they parted once they were breathless and she then grabbed her lipstick to put it on quickly. When she felt her husband's hand on her back as she was finishing she turned to him and saw he was holding a tissue out to her. She blotted though she nearly missed the tissue as he was touching the small of her back. "You're enjoying the dress," she told him teasingly.

"I am," Castle replied seriously.

Beckett, still smiling, let her husband take the tissue while she went to the full-length mirror and studied her gown closely. It was a black chiffon gown that was ruched and had cap sleeves that were lace with slight beading. It had a high waist that didn't hide her nearly six and a half month pregnant stomach but didn't make it so obvious either. She'd done her best to look for one that did that and was relieved she'd found it at a boutique at home. Shaking herself of her thoughts when she felt her husband's hand cupping the bun her hair was in she said, "Don't knock out my comb."

"I won't," Castle told her with a smile. He kissed at the side of her neck and asked, "Should we go?"

"We have to, everyone's going to be here and we'll still be in here," Beckett replied.

"Good point, I don't want to hear the comments from Brad and David," Castle said, reaching for her hand so they could walk out into the family room as his wife was rolling her eyes with a smile and he laughed slightly.

"Mommy," Julia gasped when she was the first to spot her. She jumped up from where she and the other kids were gathered around the coffee table and she rushed to her. "You look beautiful," she breathed.

"Believe me I did tell her," Castle said, letting go of his wife as he watched his mother studying her dress.

"Very nice," Martha said with a nod, smiling at her daughter in law. "I wondered what you meant about the waist, but I can see now and you've made the perfect choice."

"She's right you look very nice Katie," Jim told his daughter.

"Thank you, Dad," Beckett said, going to him and hugging him for a moment before she looked down at Eliza who was embracing her. "We-" before she was cut off by a knock on the door. "There are your parents," she told the other kids before she and her husband went to the door.

After the parents greeted their kids Lily went over to Beckett and said, "Nice choice."

"You too," Beckett replied with a smile as her friend was wearing a gown that was a deep purple and had a higher waist too. "You look great too Rebecca," she added quickly for the woman who was walking up to them.

"Thank you," she said. "When are we heading out?" Rebecca then asked.

"We need to go now," David said, going over to them with the rest of the husbands.

As the others went to their kids Castle and Beckett said goodnight to their parents first as they wanted to wait to say it to the girls last going to where they were standing by the couch.

"We'll see you at the restaurant tomorrow?" Jim asked his daughter as they embraced quickly.

"At nine," Beckett said with a nod. "Will you be alright?"

"Yes," Jim assured her, shaking his son in law's hand as Beckett hugged Martha quickly.

"We've added just two more children, but I think we'll manage," Castle mother told them. "Have a wonderful time you two."

"We will," Castle said before he watched his wife sit down as the girls rushed into her arms, smiling while he listened to them saying goodnight.

"Have fun Mommy," Julia said with a smile. "I hope you can dance with Daddy."

"I will," Beckett said, kissing the girls' cheeks. "And have fun here but help out a little bit okay?"

"We will," Eliza said first. She then smiled and said, "Love you Mommy."

"I love you too sweetie," Beckett replied. "We'll see you in the morning."

"We can't wait to see your hotel," Julia said quickly as she watched her little sister share a kiss with their mother before she was hugging Beckett tightly. "And I love you too Mommy."

"Love you Julia," Beckett said. "Sweet dreams you two and we'll want to hear how it was tonight."

"We'll tell you," Julia replied and then shared a kiss with her mother before she and her sister went to their father to hug him tightly.

"Your mom's right we do want to hear about tonight, but we'll miss you still," Castle told them as he'd sat down to hug them.

"We will, I forgot to tell you," Beckett said as the girls looked at her.

"Thanks, but you still gotta dance," Eliza told them both.

With a laugh Castle kissed the girls as his wife had done and then said, "I love you both so much. Have a great time and please try not to destroy the house."

Giggling with her sister Julia then said, "We won't, and I love you Daddy."

"Yeah, I love you too Daddy," Eliza added.

Sharing a kiss with them both Castle embraced them one last time before he got up and went to the door, grabbing his wife's shawl for the gown. He said goodbye to everyone with the others and they left together, going to the sidewalk where there was a limo waiting for them.

"Do you honestly think they'll destroy the loft?" Lily asked as they were pulling away from the curb.

"No but that's the running joke in the family," Castle replied with a smile. "It's more my mother."

"Of course," Lily said with a laugh.

"How many more times are you getting invited to this?" Brad asked then.

"I don't count," David said. "But enough."

"Hopefully you'll get elected to a second term," Beckett said. "If you're running."

"I am," David said with a slight laugh. "And… we're here," he began before he stopped and saw the building where the ball was.

Castle and Brad let David go out first and turn to get his wife before the latter went next with Lily. Climbing out of the car Castle glanced quickly at the red carpet set up with the media on either side before he turned back and held out his hand for his wife, waiting for her.

"I wonder if they're going to mention this," Beckett commented once she was standing outside the car.

"Probably," Castle commented as he knew she was indicating her pregnancy. " _Ready_?" he asked, using Irish.

Beckett nodded and looped her arm through his before they started down the carpet behind their friends. She wasn't surprised at all the flashes as they went before they reached the entrance. She breathed out slightly when they rejoined everyone else and told them, "I hate doing that."

"Can't get used to it?" Rebecca asked with a smile.

"And you?" Beckett shot back though she was smiling as well.

"No, you're right, it's tough," Rebecca replied with a nod. She gave her coat to her husband while Lily and Beckett gave their shawls to their husbands and when the three of them were alone she looked over at the entrance. "Oh good," she commented.

"Oh good what?" Beckett asked. She followed her friend's gaze and gasped when she saw who was coming inside. "Patrick!" she couldn't help crying out.

Hearing his wife Castle looked over at her and then where she was hurrying before he saw it was Darnley. He became worried she was going to run but calmed down as she just walked quickly. He got their things into the coat check before he rushed after her, smiling as her friend was picking her up.

"Can't believe I can still do that," Darnley saying to Beckett as they embraced, and he'd set her down.

"I'm not that big," she shot back before she hugged him one last time. "You're here," she said.

"I am, thank your mayor," Darnley said, shaking Castle's hand. He then shook David's hand telling him, "Thank you so much."

"I was asked to," the man replied. "And of course, I was asked to invite you as well Skye."

"Oh god, I'm so sorry," Beckett said, turning her attention to Nkosi, Skye and Mary who had been greeting the others. She embraced them each but did so last to the investigator asking, "How is it going with Fleur?"

"She's our daughter," Skye said simply.

"She is?" Lily asked in surprise. "That fast?"

"It can happen," Mary commented.

"She's right, it can," Beckett said. "Congratulations," she then told the two women. "But you came here." When the two shared a look, she smiled and then said, "They're here too?"

"Not here exactly but at our hotel," Skye answered. "And with my dad in case you're all wondering."

"And your kids?" Castle asked Darnley and Trevor as they moved then to the ballroom.

"At home, we couldn't really bring them," Darnley said. "But we're going to stay the night and go back home tomorrow evening. You guys are staying that long right?"

"We're going back on Sunday morning," Castle answered.

"Will you spend time with us tomorrow?" Beckett asked when they stopped in front of their table they were sharing.

"Is that for all four of us?" Skye asked.

"And your kids," Beckett said. "But the thing is we're going to the Natural History Museum and we're going to be going to just the top two floors."

"David explained to us," Nkosi said. "We would not mind."

"Neither would we," Skye said. "We're staying Sunday into the afternoon, so we can go back and see what we missed."

"Okay, then we're all set," Castle said, helping his wife sit down. He then thought of something before he was about to ask the two women about it when his wife beat him.

"Why don't you have your girls stay at our loft?" Beckett asked.

"Wait, aren't all your kids staying there too?" Mary asked them, looking at everyone except Darnley and Nkosi.

"Yes, but that would be alright," Castle said when he noticed his wife was looking at him. He then recalled something and asked, "What about your father? Actually," he continued before anyone else could say anything. "If he doesn't mind he can take the couch; it's very comfortable."

"Let me ask," Skye said, taking her phone out of her pocket.

"I'm surprised," Beckett told her husband.

Shrugging Castle said, "It makes sense since all the other kids are there too. And this gives them the chance to play with Fleur…"

Beckett nodded, and they looked over at Skye together as she was putting her phone away. "Well?" she asked with a smile.

"They're going right now but you didn't really tell your parents about this did you?" the investigator told them.

"I'll call them right now," Castle said.

While he was getting his phone, Beckett turned to Skye and asked, "Does Fleur speak English at all?"

"A little, she's learning more now already from Marie and Kath," Mary answered.

"She's right," Skye said, smiling as widely as her wife was. "They're teaching her and having her teach them."

"They don't mind her," Brad asked.

"Oh no, they love her already," Skye answered. She was still smiling as she told them, "They've wanted a sibling for a while and when they found out she was becoming their sister they were ecstatic."

"They wanted to learn French right away," Mary added. "We've taught them what we could at such short notice but Fleur's helping us out."

"By the by," Skye began before she paused.

"My parents are fine with them going over there," Castle said, hanging up. "What?" he asked, looking at the others. He then realized what they'd been talking about while he'd been on his phone and he said, "By the by what?" looking at Skye.

"I've taken to calling her Nicky sometimes," the investigator replied.

Beckett was startled to see Skye looked discomfited and she said, "I just served as inspiration for Nikki Heat."

"And I've never called her that," Castle said. "We don't think you're taking from that. You did tell us her middle name."

"Okay, then we're all good," Skye replied and they all began to laugh before the mayor of NYC started to speak.

After the speech Castle commented to his wife, "So she won her second term."

Beckett glanced at him and gently squeezed his hand before she turned to Darnley who was on the other side of her as he was asking about her last checkup. "We're both fine," she said with a smile. "Rick has the ultrasound picture if you want to see it."

"Of course," Darnley replied before he took the phone that Castle handed to him. "She's getting bigger," he said with a smile.

"I know," Beckett said before she paused as she saw some people coming in. They made it," she told her husband as she touched his arm.

Looking over with her Castle smiled as he saw the boys, Lanie, Dylan and Jenny coming inside but then frowned when he saw Gates behind them. "She's here?" he asked his wife quietly.

"She's still captain," Beckett said, startled herself at the sight of her former superior. "Though it's her last year."  
"Probably why she came," Castle said. "What do we do?"

"We talk to her if she comes up to us," Beckett replied. "Otherwise we leave her be."

"You really don't want to talk to her?" Darnley asked her.

"I don't think she'd want to talk to us," Beckett said simply. "I told you what I said to her in defense of him," she added, nodding to her husband.

"True," Darnley said, only saying that as their food was place in front of them and they began to eat. They began to talk together before he asked Castle and Beckett, "You're not going to talk to the others either?"

"We are, just not yet," Castle replied. "Once we finish and can talk to them on our own."  
"Great, I'm interested in seeing how they are," Darnley said.

"Also, why Lanie has a ring on her fourth finger," Skye commented. When Castle and Beckett looked at her she smiled and commented, "I noticed."

"Do you think…?" Castle began to say as they turned to try and see their friend.

"I think so," Beckett replied with a smile. "It is a good day to ask… unless he asked yesterday or earlier."

"In that case that day was good?" Rebecca asked.

"Of course," Beckett said slightly laughingly. She returned to her meal and continued to eat before she could feel the baby beginning to kick. She smiled and told her husband, "She wants to dance too."

"Like I've told you before love we're going to have a family of dancers," Castle said. He then said, "Want to dance or see them first?"

"We're going to see them now," Beckett replied as she stood up quickly. She walked as fast as she could to her friend as their city friends were making their way over to them, speeding up a little when she spotted the ring that was in fact on Lanie's fourth finger. "Are you and Dylan?" she asked as soon as they had met, and she was embracing her friend tightly.

"We are," Lanie replied with a smile before they parted. She glanced at Lily and Rebecca and said as Beckett was looking at her engagement ring, "Congratulations again."

"Thank you," Lily replied as the doctor had been talking to her. "And of course to yourself as well."

"I'll agree with her, I'm so happy for you," Beckett said as she was hugging her tightly again. "Are you?"

"Yeah, we are," Lanie replied. "Hello Castle," she said as the others had reached them.

"Hey, congratulations to both of you," he told her and Dylan. After they'd all shaken the man's hand and then did the same to Lanie he asked, "When did he ask?"

"Last night," Dylan replied, looking at his fiancée.

"He made dinner for us," Lanie took up with a smile. "And we were talking afterwards on the couch and he got down on his knee and proposed as we were talking about the idea of moving in together. It was romantic."

"It sounds like it," Rebecca said.

"When will you get married?" Skye asked.

"We haven't talked about it yet," Lanie answered. "But when we figure that out we'll let you all know with the invitations."

"Great to hear," Beckett said. She then saw the others were making their way over to them after talking to the Police Commissioner and she asked, "Does Javi know?"

"He does, he's fine," Lanie said firmly.

Beckett nodded and then turned her attention to Esposito who reached her first and she said, "I am pregnant," as she noticed immediately that he was looking at her stomach.

"I haven't seen you this far," Esposito replied before he hugged her quickly. "You're alright?"

"We're fine," Beckett said with a nod before she was turning to Ryan and hugging him and his wife. She turned to Dylan and said, "I'll check to make sure you're taking care of her."

With a smile the doctor said, "She said you'd say that and feel free to."

"We're going to dance," Brad said after they'd all greeted one another. "See you."

Castle was startled when they were left alone shortly after that and he turned to his wife saying, "You don't want to go."

"Not quite yet," Beckett said. "When this song is over."

"Alright," Castle replied before he held her hand tightly.

"Beckett, Mr. Castle," a voice said suddenly to Beckett's right.

"Sir," she said immediately as she turned to Gates.

"I'd heard you were friends with the mayor of the Hamptons," the captain said.

"We are," Castle began carefully.

With a nod Gates said, "Glad to see you here," before she started to walk away. "Congratulations again."

"Thank you, sir," Beckett said quickly. When Gates was far enough away she breathed out heavily and said to her husband, "That was…"

"Weird, it was weird," Castle agreed with a nod. "At least we were all civil though it was thankfully short. Come on, the next song is starting."

Beckett allowed her husband to pull her out to the dance floor and she wrapped her arms around him tightly while he did the same with her before they began to sway together. She pressed close to him, putting their brief meeting with Gates out of her mind and letting herself focus on their dance as she was more than ready to start their night together with their dancing.

* * *

"How are you feeling?" Darnley asked as he and Beckett danced together later that night.

"Oh, I'm fine," Beckett replied. She smiled when her friend looked at her in surprise and asked, "What?"

"I forgot to ask what kind of shoes are you wearing?" Darnley said.

"Black heels, but they're lower than I wear," Beckett replied. "There's no way I could honestly wear my four inches."'

"Do you miss it?" Darnley asked. "Them I should say."

"Slightly but I get the feeling my husband likes me being so much shorter than him," Beckett said.

Darnley began to laugh and said, "I think he would." The song they were dancing to stopped and he then said, "Drink? It's where your husband is."

"Alright," Beckett said, smiling herself. They went over to the bar and she saw a woman was talking to Castle and she sighed saying, "Again."

"Hmm, think I should dance with her?" Darnley asked, seeing what she was.

"You don't have to do that," Beckett said before they reached Castle and the woman. " _Having some trouble love_?" she asked her husband in Irish.

" _Slightly, I hope you're here to help me out_ ," Castle said, wrapping his arm around her. He was slightly startled when she wrapped her arms around him but when she kissed him he knew what her plan was. He went along with her eagerly, holding her tightly before they soon parted so they wouldn't draw too much attention to themselves. He looked to see if the woman was still there and finding she wasn't he breathed out in relief telling his wife, "She was insinuating that I wouldn't want to be with you right now."

"Oh, that was stupid," Darnley said. He smiled when the two looked at him in surprise and he said with a smile, "Ta!"

Shaking her head Beckett turned to her husband and said, " _If only she knew_."

" _I know. Should we keep dancing_?" Castle asked.

" _I could use a break_ ," Beckett told him. She wasn't surprised when that got her husband to hurry her over to the table and she saw Skye was there on her own. "Hey," she said. "Oh, Rick I wanted a drink if that's alright."

"That's fine, I'll be back," Castle told them before he kissed her cheek and left them.

"Was that for the other women?" Skye asked with a slight smile once they were alone.

"The secondary reason," Beckett said. "How are you?"

"You caught me, I'm checking on the flight that Fleur was on," Skye replied. She sighed and said, "They wouldn't let me investigate once I started to attempt to adopt her."

"Conflict of interest," Beckett said with a nod.

"What I wonder is how you got to investigate your mother's case," Skye then said. "If I can ask."

"You can and it's because Montgomery allowed me to," Beckett replied.

"He wasn't worried you'd find him?" Skye said.

"No," Beckett said.

"He thought the three of them were well enough hidden," Castle said as he sat down with them, handing his wife some ginger ale.

"But you're still assisting, aren't you?" Beckett asked the investigator.

"I couldn't help it and they're happy to let me do so," Skye replied. "But don't worry," she told them as she stood up. "I'm not going to be doing this tomorrow."

"Tired?" Castle asked as he squeezed his wife's hand once they were alone.

"My feet, but I'll be alright taking a break," Beckett said. "Like Lily was. But," she then said. "We don't need to stay the whole time, do we?"

"Brad talked to me about that and they're probably going to leave soon themselves," Castle replied. "I think we should go with them since they're staying at the Waldorf too."

"I agree," Beckett said before she saw the couple was coming over to them. "Already?" she asked them.

"No, I'm very thirsty," Lily replied. "And my feet are starting to hurt so I need to sit."

"Kate, I just had an idea," Castle said.

"Should I be worried?" Beckett asked, smiling at her friend when Lily began to laugh.

"No, I'm just thinking of what if we had a dinner tomorrow for everyone that's here?" Castle asked her.

"That would be nice," Beckett said. "Catering?"

"There are a lot of us," Lily said. "I'm assuming you're going to invite everyone here?"

"From the city?" Beckett asked. When her friend nodded she smiled and said, "Of course."

"And yes, it will be catering," Castle added. "Should I go around and ask everyone?"

"Have them come here," Beckett said. She watched her husband hurrying around before everyone was gathered around the table and her and Lily. "Okay, so tomorrow night for dinner are you guys free?" she began.

When they got nods from everyone Castle then said, "Great, come at five since there are a lot of young kids there."

"We'll be there," Lanie said first.

"Us too," Ryan said then, the others all agreeing with them.

"Are you guys saying goodbye to us?" Esposito asked.

"I think we are," Lily said slowly, looking at Beckett.

"I agree," she said. "We need some rest."

"We're going to head out too," Rebecca then said.

"Us too," Dylan said, smiling at his fiancée when she looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah, a lot of people are leaving," Jenny said.

"Alright we'll see each other tomorrow for a while at least," Castle said as he watched Beckett getting up to make sure she'd be alright doing so.

They began to say goodnight, taking some time as there were so many of them and they talked a little as well. But they kept saying they'd meet up again at the loft the next day, so they eventually finished and went outside to get cabs or the limo the six from the Hamptons had. They spoke in the back of the limo before reaching the Waldorf-Astoria where they got out and hurried into the hotel. They didn't spend much time saying goodbye to each other at the elevators as they were on different floors, all of them hurrying inside the car they had and splitting up at each one until they were finally getting into their rooms for the night with the doors locked firmly behind them.

* * *

"You never get tired of that?" Beckett commented.

"Not sure I could," Castle replied, his voice slightly distorted as he had his face buried in her hair that she had released from its bun. He sighed and finally stopped telling her, "I guess that was a hint to me to stop?"

"Don't get me wrong," Beckett said with a smile, turning to him. "I enjoyed that but… we should probably move things along."

"Great so…" Castle started to say before he stopped himself.

"You can say it," Beckett assured him.

"The bedroom?" Castle asked her.

"You were going to say the bed, right?" Beckett said with a smile.

"I was but bedroom sounds better," Castle replied. "We don't need to just jump right on it," he said, jumping up then as his wife was standing.

"Oh no," Beckett said, gently pushing him back on the couch. "I'll come get you."

"Okay," Castle breathed out heavily as he watched her go. He stood up quickly and then went over to one of the windows in the living area of their room, closing the blue curtains over the sheer ones he'd put when they'd gotten inside. He paused at the bigger window and opened the two curtains, looking out on their view of the city. He and Beckett had shared a cup of tea before they'd kissed for some time until she had questioned him about what he was doing to her hair. Remembering the way it had felt and smelled he sighed and turned away from the window before straightening the curtains; in an attempt to distract himself. When he shortly after heard his wife calling him he dashed over to the door and slipped inside though he left it open behind him.

Beckett smiled as her husband came to an abrupt stop when he saw her and said, "My other Valentine's gift for you."

"Thank you," Castle nearly wheezed out to her as he approached her carefully. "You…" he started to say as he looked over her closely. He paused but then told her, " _Leat breathnú stiúdú_."

Smiling again, as he had said she was stunning, Beckett told him, " _Bhí mé ag smaoineamh ar tú, is gá dom duit_ ," not surprised when he breathed out hard as she'd told him she'd been thinking about him and she wanted him. " _While I was changing_ ," she then told him in Irish while he wrapped his arms around her.

"Yeah… thank you for this," Castle said as he ran his hands over her sides. She was wearing one of his white button up shirts; that she'd obviously brought from home; and stockings that had garters on the tops that were hanging down on the sides of her legs. He was tempted to just stare at her, but she was taking his hands and he found he had changed his mind quickly on what to do next.

Watching her husband unbutton his shirt on her; since she had placed his hand at the top one; Beckett said, "I thought I would reciprocate though I'm wearing this."

"Oh, don't worry," Castle said reassuringly. "I'm enjoying my gift a lot." He watched as his wife pushed his hands away once his shirt was open and then pulled it apart fully with a smile. "Kate," he breathed out seeing she was completely naked under the shirt.

"Happy Valentine's-" Beckett started to say before her husband was picking her up to her cry of surprise. She laughed softly when he set her down carefully on the bed and told him, "Do you mind if we get this off?"

Castle raced to help his wife out of his shirt, tossing it aside before he started to get fully on the bed with her. For a second he was startled when she stopped him but quickly realized what she wanted, and he was quick to divest himself of his clothes. After he had everything off he was getting on his knees telling his wife, "I'm okay," quickly as she touched the brace he had on. He kissed her again and carefully had her lay down before they needed to part from each other. "Do you want these off too?"

"If you want them off," Beckett replied easily. She smiled when her husband quickly propped her back up with pillows before he reached for her garters and removed them first. She watched him roll both of her stockings off her legs, hearing his breathing was speeding up as he was doing that. When he was finished she waited a little eagerly, wondering what exactly would happen as he turned to her.

At first Castle kissed his wife gently before he eventually deepened it, feeling her tongue curling around his while he slipped it into her mouth. After a while he carefully pulled away and went to her neck, kissing around it before he felt her hand on his shoulder. "What?" he asked.

"What are we going to do?" Beckett asked him.

Castle began to open his mouth to speak before he paused and ran his hand down her leg gently before he sighed and admitted, "I don't know."

"Usually you do," Beckett said in surprise.

"I had some ideas but now I'm realizing I'd rather hear what you want to do," Castle told her.

Beckett smiled and then told him, "At the same time."

Breathing out heavily Castle said, "Great idea, when do you want to start?"

Unable to help the soft laugh that escaped her lips Beckett brought her husband down enough to her so they could kiss. When they were apart again she said, "Now is good, but not orally."

"Oh… hands… great," Castle said as she pushed him to sit up which he quickly did so. "Sitting up?"

"I wouldn't have pushed you if I didn't want to do it like that," Beckett replied easily. She looked on while her husband cupped her right breast and she bit her lower lip before she moaned softly when his thumb reached up to her nipple. She stopped him and told him, "I'm first," before she moved to act on that before he could say anything in response.

Hissing hard when his wife grasped his length with one hand and the other cupped him underneath Castle gasped out, "Are you going to… you said at the same time."

"What are you waiting for?" Beckett asked him simply.

Realizing that he could reach her Castle immediately did so; starting with his fingers on her clit though he only fingered it at first as he watched her for her reaction. When she cried out and tightened her grip on him he said, "We need… need to move around."

"I know," Beckett said as their hands were in awkward positions. She let go of him reluctantly and she spread her legs over him, scooting as closely to him as she could and her stomach would allow. He had his spread as well and since she could she didn't wait to see if he was ready, grasping him again. That time she let her thumb circle around the very tip of him while he watched her before he closed his eyes tightly.

It took Castle a little time before he recalled he needed to pleasure his wife as well, fighting through what she was doing to him. It was difficult since her hand was very soft and warm and rubbing a little roughly all around him. He finally pushed himself mentally and reached out to her, rubbing against her clit again and placing his fingers flat to do that against the swollen nub. "This might not last," he breathed heavily to her.

"Yeah…" Beckett breathed out before she moaned heavily in her joy. She then cried out slightly as his fingers slipped gently within her, just the first two, before they moved. "Rick…" she cried in delight as his thumb went after her clit. She did the best she could to continue to pleasure him though it was becoming more and more difficult. Each touch he made on her was a shock that made her jerk slightly against him and she lost her grip on him. "Sorry," she quickly apologized.

"It's alright," Castle said, making sure he was still moving over her while she grabbed onto him again. After a while he leaned over, and he kissed her deeply before she responded and they were suddenly holding onto each other. When they stopped he realized where his damp fingers had been holding onto her and he said, "Now it's my turn to apologize."

"You're fine," Beckett said simply as they got back to pleasuring each other manually. She was moving faster and wasn't surprised to feel her husband doing the same with her before she could tell her body was close.

"Kate," Castle said shortly before he grabbed his wife and pulled her onto him. He was relieved she went along with him but that was only a moment's thought as they were climaxing almost instantaneously. He held her while she threw her head back and cried his name repeatedly as he was doing the same with hers though it came out as more of a groan feeling her bouncing a little on him until she seemed to collapse in his arms while he still went through his orgasm up until that stopped as well.

Leaning her head down just enough Beckett began to kiss around her husband's face she could reach before she tilted his head up to hers. "Still with me?" she asked him as she saw he was staring at her.

Hearing the urgency in his wife's voice Castle said simply, "I am." He watched her get off him and he asked her, "Are you okay?"

"No," Beckett said, biting her lower lip. When her husband kissed her lips gently she threw her arms around his neck and then pulled him with her as she lay back on the bed. " _Me gá duit. Anois_ ," she said, telling him she needed him and saying now at the end.

" _Aon rud is mian leat mo grá_ ," Castle replied quickly; telling her anything she wanted and adding my love at the end; as he got on top of her carefully.

Biting the side of her mouth Beckett said, " _Then I want you to fuck me as hard as you can_."

" _What I want too_ ," Castle said before he carefully sank into her. "I don't know how I knew you wanted this," he said while he was reaching down to her sex and fingering her clit gently.

"Oh… you know me too well!" Beckett gasped as she was reacting to him instantly. While he was doing that she carefully circled both of his nipples with her index fingers before he gave an experimental thrust, keeping his eyes on her intently.

When his wife moaned heavily in reaction to him Castle reached down to her leg, touching it gently before he felt her moving it. While she pressed her feet to the sides of his knees he began to move again, that time not stopping as she was doing the same with him. He gasped out her name and a heavy curse in Irish before he focused all his attention on just doing as she had asked him to. He was startled to soon realize he could feel her abdomen brushing against him more than before and he groaned, "You're… we need to switch."

"Not yet!" Beckett gasped out to him when he changed the angle of his thrusts just enough to strike against her clit. She hoped she wasn't outright screaming as she was being almost too stimulated but before she could lose control he was stopping, and she was quick to swear.

"We'll go wherever you want," Castle said, a little breathless as he carefully pulled away from her.

Beckett sighed, feeling herself still throbbing heavily at the absence of him inside of her, and she sat up. Looking around the room she told him, "Not here."

"No?" Castle asked in surprise. When she simply got off the bed in a rush he did the same and was about to grab her to slow her down when she made a beeline for the door, grabbing a blanket on an armchair on the way. He walked after her to the living area and he watched her take his hand and pull him straight to the table by the biggest window. "You-" he began before she covered his mouth with her hand.

"Don't say a word," Beckett said firmly. "I want you to take me right here until I stop us."

With her tone of voice being so firm Castle found he could only nod his head and he waited for her to position herself as she wanted to be. When she turned away from him he was relieved, knowing that wasn't going to last long. He moved to enter her again, breathing out heavily at the feel of her though it wasn't his first time doing so that night. Finally they were coupled firmly together, and he breathed, "I pick next."

"Oh no, I-" Beckett started to say before she cut herself off as he turned her around and then slammed into her. She held onto him as tightly as she could while he picked her up and she wrapped her arms around him as well before they were kissing deeply. Her body was becoming hot once more, the pleasure building inside of her and she couldn't stop her hands from roaming around his body where she could do so. She knew it was affecting him, feeling him shuddering in response every so often until finally she was telling him to stop.

"Thank you," Castle gasped out as he was immediately doing so. "I was going to come."

"So was I," Beckett said, unable to help smiling at him. She kissed him gently on the lips before he helped her down and she said, "I'm going to regret doing this for so long."

"Me too," Castle said, watching his wife finger his member. "Don't… don't do that for too long," he breathed heavily to her as she affected him immediately.

"I wasn't going to," Beckett replied with a smile as she stopped. "Come on," she told him as she pulled him over to the window.

"The curtains are in the way," Castle said, watching his wife closely.

"I know," Beckett said simply. "But they are long."

Castle swallowed a little hard and then picked up the blue curtain before he held it while she sat on the ledge in front of the window. He moved to stand in front of her once she was steady and he let her grab hold of him again. "If there's a chance," he said, grunting slightly as she was pulling him towards her entrance. "I get off before I'm back inside of you-"

"I'll take that as a compliment," Beckett said, her voice a little strained feeling him sliding easily within her because she was so slick. "And this is nice too," she breathed out heavily since he was beginning to move. As she'd done on the table she was swift to wrap her arms and legs around her husband before their lips met and they were kissing passionately. Though it was a little difficult she thrust her hips against him and the sound of their skin smacking together made her breathe roughly as Castle had moved down to her neck and she whispered gently into his ear since it was close to her. Before he could pull away and look down at her she took the lobe with her teeth gently and nibbled on it as he stopped moving again.

"You're going to kill me one day," Castle said. "Even with just this," he continued as he grunted in pleasure.

"I do my best," Beckett replied as she pulled away from him. She let him help her down to the floor and she was about to take his hand when he was literally sweeping her up in his arms and carrying her to the bedroom. She didn't say anything to that; instead helped him after her onto the bed once he'd set her there before they were coupled once more. Her legs wrapped around him she held onto him with her arms on him the best she could get without letting her stomach press against his. When he began to thrust against her she gasped out a cry of pleasure, not letting it last too long as her husband was leaning down to her to capture her lips with his own.

Knowing already his wife wouldn't mind if he pushed them all the way to the edge, Castle moved rapidly. Something in him made him move as fast as he could, the way Beckett was crying out in joy in reaction to him made him go even harder. He knew he should be concerned about the baby, but she was keeping him with her and he couldn't stop himself when they kissed yet again. When they had stopped he looked down at her closely and could tell that his wife was close. " _Do you want to come my love_?" he said hoarsely, not sure how he was able to speak in Irish. At her nod, her teeth holding her lower lip, he brushed his lips quickly to her before he said, " _Then come now, I want to feel the way you take me into you and give you everything I can_."

" _You always do_!" Beckett cried out in delight as she could feel everything building up to the point where she knew it was going to take very little for her to break. That ended up happening when her husband moved his hips just enough and he was slamming into her clit. "Rick, please! _I'm coming, I want to feel you with me… please_!" she nearly screamed, switching to Irish at the end. She hadn't realized she'd done that, the ecstasy rushing through her body taking her over almost completely. But it wasn't enough to keep her from feeling he was joining her shortly after and that kept her anchored from losing consciousness until she was still, limp on the bed and panting heavily while he continued to thrust in her for just a little longer.

"I…" Castle tried to say once he'd calmed down. But he couldn't continue as he was pushing himself off her and away from her before he lay on his back, holding her hand so they wouldn't lose contact fully.

"Thank you," Beckett said with a smile as she turned onto her side.

"Is she kicking?" Castle asked as he felt recovered enough to speak.

"No, she hasn't really moved," Beckett commented, placing her hand on her stomach. "Hold on, I take that back," she said as she felt the baby shift then and tap near her hand.

"I'd move down there but I don't think I can," Castle said as he placed his hand next to hers. He felt the next kick and said, "Should we stop?"

"For the moment," Beckett replied before she lay on her back. She then sighed and said, "I could use the rest."

"We shouldn't have gone around the room," Castle said, sitting up and having her do the same.

"You don't have to," Beckett called to him as she watched him going over to the bathroom.

"Do you really expect me to stop just from you saying that?" Castle asked before he came back out.

"Not for that," Beckett replied with a slight smile. She waited for him to get back on the bed and get some of the lotion the hotel provided before she said, "Should I do the same for you?"

"It would be a little pointless," Castle commented, slightly absently as he began to rub the crème into her back. "I'd just tense it right back up."

"Pervert," Beckett replied.

"Presumptuous too," Castle added.

"I don't know," Beckett said. "Though I suppose it could be you're saying that for me."

"In what way?" Castle asked, confused.

"The way I just was with you?" Beckett replied.

"Ah," Castle said. "Should I thank your hormones?"

"I can still hit you when you're finished," Beckett said easily.

"You could but then again that defeats the purpose of why we're here," Castle said. When she looked at him over her shoulder he nodded and said at the same time as her, "Presumptuous. Okay, I got it. But are you feeling any better?"

"Slightly," Beckett said. "Thank you," she added as he finished soon after that. She turned enough to watch him go before she called, "Hold on."

"Your back still hurts?" Castle asked, going back quickly to her.

"No," Beckett answered simply before she laid down.

"You almost forgot," Castle said with a slight smile. "Wait," he said in surprise. "You didn't do this earlier?"

"We were trying to hurry," Beckett reminded him.

With a quick nod Castle gave her some of the lotion and watched her as she was rubbing it over her abdomen. After he had done that he went back to the bathroom to return the bottle to the counter before he went to her again, going swiftly. "What would you like to do now?" he asked as he climbed on the bed.

Beckett's response to that was to wrap her arms around him, pulling him onto her before they began to kiss hungrily. She was startled when he moved them around so they were sitting up together, and she said with a smile when she could, "I get the feeling this is what you want."

"Probably would be for the best," Castle said seriously.

"We didn't have any problems the first time," Beckett said wryly. She sighed when her husband looked hesitant and she gently brushed her lips against his before telling him, "I'm fine Rick, remember the baby is still protected."

"Yes but…" Castle started to say before he trailed off.

"Yes, you are larger than I am and that will happen since I'm shorter, but we can't really change that," Beckett said seriously. "But you've never hurt me before and I really don't think you would in the end. You're still careful."

"I was afraid when we were out there," Castle confessed, nodding to the living area.

"I would notice if anything was wrong," Beckett reminded him.

Castle was going to immediately reply but thought it over before he nodded and said, "Okay. And I would apologize but I'd get the feeling you'd tell me to stop it."

"Also tell you to stop worrying about that," Beckett said.

"Yeah," Castle said absently. When his wife turned her head to face him he smiled and said, "Have we waited long enough?"

"Not that," Beckett said seriously. She kissed him very slowly and sensuously telling him, "I love you," before she murmured into his ear.

Shuddering hard at her instructions Castle held her a little tighter against him and told her, "I love you too," before he kissed her as hard as he could while the desire for her rose to the point where he couldn't ignore it any longer.

Beckett allowed her husband to lay her back and once she was settled they were beginning to make love once more. She let him do what he wanted; what she'd said to him in Irish; looking forward even more to continuing to celebrate their Valentine's Day. As they continued to kiss she knew he was too while they moved together eagerly to satiate their craving for each other yet again.


	28. It's In The Hands Of My Love

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: I have some French in here that I used a translator, if I've gotten anything wrong please let me know so I can correct it.

A/N #2: I have some poems in here, first is _A Poet to His Beloved_ by W.B. Yeats, second is _A White Rose_ by John Boyle O'Reilly and third is _A Kiss_ also by O'Reilly.

A/N #3: Since I had some trouble posting the last chapter I was really pleased to receive the feedback I did for the last chapter so I'll get straight to my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (So happy to see you liked that it was such a great day for Beckett with her family. And nice to read that you thought the second half was very good writing too!),

Mb (Of course I was happy to read that you thought it was beautifully written, them having a fun outing at the museum with both their family and friends. Great you could feel their excitement going to and being at the museum since that's always how I feel being at museums, lol. I'm not surprised you love taking the kids to the Boston museums you mentioned; always fun to do that I know after doing that with my cousins. So with that I'm not surprised you totally understand the excitement and happiness that I wrote in the story for that outing. You're very welcome for the first half! Very pleased reading that you thought the second half of the chapter was a fantastic update. And I'm so happy that you love how Castle and Beckett were getting ready to go to the ball. And I did laugh at you mentioning how Castle and Beckett can render each other speechless with their choice of dress and then undress, lol. But of course, happy that you love how they can do that to each other. And glad you loved that Martha and Jim watched the kids while their parents were at the ball. I'm really pleased you're happily surprised that Skye and Darnley came to the ball with their spouses to surprise them. And that Skye and Mary brought their kids and Fleur is their daughter now officially. No surprise you're happy for Lanie, lol. Or that you think it's good they were all there at the ball and they're going to have a big dinner with everyone from the Hamptons and the city before they return to the Hamptons. I did have to laugh at your comment about Gates being okay with them, lol, but only very quickly so you made a point. So great you thought the rest of the night was hot and sensual for Castle and Beckett since I was aiming for that. And I knew you meant 'the only way' once I read your review, don't worry, lol. So I was glad you think that's the only way they can be together since that's why I think too, lol. And I had to laugh at your comment that hot, loving and sensual thy name is Rick and Kate because I agree with that as well! So happy you thought it was beautifully written. And definitely Caskett and family always!),

MsNYC (Lol, nice to see that you were so glad about Darnley that you yelled that, lol, and that his husband went too. I wasn't surprised that you were glad too that the boys, Lanie, Jenny and Dylan were there too, lol, I had to include them. Really pleased you especially enjoyed their day at the museum with the kids. I'm really happy that you enjoyed their time at that museum since you've been there before, I haven't so was just using the site. Glad I could manage to write everything with that well! So happy to see you thought it was great writing as usual. And not surprised you can't wait to see everyone at the loft!) and

vetgirlmx (I'm glad to see you enjoyed their trip to the museum, lol, I forgot you enjoyed reading those myself. And not surprised you liked that Jake and Eve were with them but I'm glad you're hoping it happens often! I'm glad to see too that you can hardly wait to see all the kids going to the museum the next day. I was pleasantly surprised to see you were fangirling hard; as you said; when they met Neil deGrasse Tyson as I didn't know if anyone would really be aware of who he was, lol. But I'm so glad I was wrong, I love him he's so fascinating. I agree though, lol, I don't think I'd be that calm like Julia if I met him. But I'm glad you loved that bit! Lol, not surprised that you were expecting the boys and Lanie to be there. Great you were hoping for Darnley to show up and of course glad that I could give you a very nice surprise with Skye and Mary being there too, lol. And you're right they are becoming a huge group of friends, lol. It was interesting to see you wanted Gates to be there, but I'm glad you saw the interaction as being weird since I was aiming for that. And I figured that with that much time she wouldn't be that angry, lol, since Castle's not at her precinct, but the interaction would be brief still of course. Really happy to see you're waiting eagerly for the next day since they're going to have that dinner all together and the McDouglases will join them at the museum, along with Darnley and Nkosi, since you want to keep reading. And you'll have to see if you'll get something about that sleepover the kids had with the new editions to it. But I'm really not surprised that you're dying to know what happens then when they met Fleur and are hoping to get some of the story at least and you'll be able to read now to see if that happens or not!).

Thank you so much for the reviews, I loved reading them as usual and appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #4: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _My Love_ by Paul and Linda McCartney, from the Paul McCartney and Wings album _Red Rose Speedway_.

It's In The Hands Of My Love

Standing in front of the diorama Julia looked at the little girl next to her and said, " _S-savez_ … _savez-vous_ …" before she had to stop as she couldn't say any more of that.

" _Do you know what this is_?" Beckett asked Skye and Mary's youngest in French.

Watching Fleur nod her head Castle wasn't surprised when the little girl looked up at her mother and he said, "Is there another word for this?"

" _Faucon_ ," Skye replied as they were looking at a falcon. She spoke in French to her daughter for a little before she then told the others, "She likes it."

"There's more," Eliza said shyly, going to the little girl.

"We should keep going through to show her," Beckett told her. She smiled when the kids pulled Fleur after them to look at the other birds in the hall they were inside of on the third floor of the museum. They had ended up meeting at H&H Bagels; near the museum; to have bagels and lox for breakfast so Fleur could try it. She couldn't help smiling as she had to wonder how it had been the night before when the kids had all met the little girl, but she imagined they would have been welcoming if not a little overwhelming. She turned her attention then to the wading birds they were stopping at, squeezing her husband's hand before they looked at the girls.

"She's so shy… is it 'cause she doesn't speak English that much?" Mari whispered to Julia as they watched Fleur holding onto Skye's hand and leaning against her.

"Probably," Julia replied, smiling and waving at the little girl as she looked at her from her mother. She recalled the night before and their sudden and unexpected guests for the sleepover but when they found out who it was she hadn't been able to help being eager to meet the new addition to their group. And though she tried to shake herself of her memory she went over to the next diorama with the others, still recalling and still smiling as well.

* * *

 _"Hello Liam," Martha was saying as she opened the door. "How are you this evening?"_

 _"Very well," the man said. "Fleur," he began as he was trying to set his newest granddaughter down._

 _Julia wasn't surprised when her sister grabbed her hand as the man; they recognized as Skye's dad; spoke to the little girl in his arms in French. She could understand a little bit, but they were talking too quickly together for her to get anything else besides some basic words. "Where are Skye and Mary?" she asked as she walked over to them._

 _"They're at the ball with your parents," Liam said. He spoke in French to his granddaughter and told her, "_ These are your sisters' friends. They are very nice, and they'd like to play with you _."_

 _"_ Je m'appelle _Julia," the girl said then._

 _"_ Vous savez français _?" Fleur asked hopefully as she let Liam set her down._

 _"_ Un petit peu _… that's right isn't it?" Julia asked the man._

 _"It is," Liam said. "And she knows a little English."_

 _"I think you should introduce yourselves," Jim said as Julia and Fleur smiled at each other._

 _"Oh… um…" Julia started to say before she looked hesitant. "Will you translate?"_

 _"If I need to," Liam said. "I guess the rest of you should know that this is Fleur, Skye and Mary have adopted her."_

 _"Hi!" "Hello!" "_ Bonjour _," Jacob, Eve and then Mari said with small waves._

 _"Okay," Julia said. "This is my sister."_

 _"_ Petite soeur _," Liam informed his granddaughter._

 _"Eliza," Julia continued when Fleur nodded. "And this is Mari, she's my friend. Her pet-_ petite soeur _Dani. And these are Eve and Jake."_

 _Fleur was tempted to run back to her grandfather; whom she'd taken to already as she'd seen how close she was with her maman; or at the very least her sisters when she watched Julia run to the two next to her._

 _"I missed you!" Kathleen said first eagerly as she and Julia jumped up and down playfully. "I didn't know we would get to see you."_

 _"Mummy and Mommy said we would try tomorrow," Marie added before she was hugging Julia._

 _"Hey… will they get to come with us to the museum?" the girl asked her grandparents.  
"Skye said we would but just the top two stories…?" Liam asked Martha and Jim._

 _"There are four," Martha said. "That's odd; you'll miss out on the first two."_

 _"We won't," Liam then said. "Because we're staying into Sunday and we'll see what we missed then I'm sure."_

 _"Are there really nice things there?" Marie said, wrapping her arm around Fleur who'd come over to her._

 _"You never got to go before," Eliza said, smiling at Fleur widely._

 _"Nope but we want to see," Kathleen replied. "Mummy says it's really nice. But she never went either."_

 _"Or Mommy," Marie said, her twin nodding in agreement._

 _"What does your sister call your moms?" Eve asked as they were quiet for a moment._

 _"She called Mummy Maman," Kathleen said first._

 _"And Mommy just Mama," Marie said._

 _"It's true," Liam said as he took the cup of juice that Jim handed him. "She started on that right away."_

 _"What about her parents?" Martha whispered._

 _"They passed away in a derailment on the Métro," Liam said softly, watching as the kids were gathering around the Twister game they'd been playing when they'd come in. "When she was just five months, they were coming home from work in Saint-Denis and Fleur was with the nanny they'd hired."_

 _"And she was never adopted?" Jim asked, keeping his voice down as well. "She's adorable."_

 _"She is, and I don't know why," Liam said with a sigh. "But we've given her a home so…"_

 _"That's blue," Julia was telling Fleur then as the adults looked over at them then._

 _"Blue," the little girl said easily._

 _"Oh… I forgot that's how it is in French too," Julia said. "Just spelled different."_

 _"Are you sure we should play?" Marie asked._

 _"Well… what else could we do?" Julia asked._

 _"Show her your dancing," Kathleen said in sudden realization. "She likes that."_

 _"She does?" Julia said before she shook her head and then looked at the little girl. "You do?"_

 _Hearing her grandfather calling out in French to her Fleur nodded and then turned to Julia saying, "You… d-dance?"_

 _"Yes," the girl replied, nodding her head firmly with a smile. "Do you know how?" she asked slowly._

 _Letting her grandfather translate that Fleur said, "_ Petite peu _."_

 _Smiling wider at her Julia then said, "We will show you," slowly once again. She went over to Mari and took her hand before saying, "What about the Jive?"_

 _"Without shoes?" the girl asked._

 _"Do you have any with you?" Julia asked. When her friend shook her head she told her, "Then we better do it without them." She went over to the kitchen and then said, "Can you play some music for us Grandpapa?"_

 _"I think so," Jim replied with a smile. "Be careful," he told them._

 _"We know," Julia said with a nod as the three adults got up from where they were sitting._

 _"We danced in our socks before," Mari added._

 _"What song?" Jim asked them with a smile._

 _"Um… I think the song from Little Richard," Julia replied. She and Mari then went to the entry and they began to dance together there once the song was playing. At first, she thought of getting the steps just right for Fleur to see but then forgot about it as she was having too much fun with her friend. When they stopped and turned to the others breathing heavily she laughed as the little girl raced to her, speaking rapidly in French before she stopped abruptly. She then laughed again; with everyone else; before she waited for Liam to translate that Fleur wanted to learn what she and Mari had done. And with that she and her friend began to teach her while the others were watching their lessons before they all joined in except for the adults and Dani, dancing together._

* * *

"Look at the house!" Eliza said eagerly. "Is it a house?" she asked, looking at her parents then.

"A storage house, from the Maori people," Castle answered with a smile. "They would use it for food or treasures."

"Ooh… can I see?" Eliza asked.

"It's empty," Castle said. When he saw the disappointment on the little girl's face he smiled and said, "I had been hoping there was some of that treasure in there too the first time I saw this."

Eliza giggled and then said, "Did Mommy miss this?"

"Oh no, I'm sure she and Lily are having a great time upstairs waiting for us," Castle said as he picked her up.

"Getting to see the dinosaurs first," Brad said as his friend walked up to him.

"Shh, they're not supposed to know," Castle said jokingly.

"I know now Daddy," Eliza told her father.

"Then you have to keep it a secret," Castle said. He laughed when his youngest tapped his lips with her index finger and he kissed her cheek before he then said, "Are we ready to head upstairs?"

"My kids are…" Brad said slowly before looking out for them. "You can start walking."

Castle, seeing he'd said that because Julia was walking over to them, said to her, "Have fun?"

"Yep but I really want to see Mommy," the little girl replied.

"Come on," Castle said, setting Eliza down and holding his hands out to the two.

"Will Mommy be sitting?" Julia asked him.

"Probably… I hope," Castle said as they walked through the halls they'd been through on their way to the last one. He smiled when his daughters laughed softly but he couldn't help hoping his wife was sitting at least as that had been the reason she and Lily had moved on ahead of them.

At that same time Beckett was watching Lily sit next to her and she said, "I hate that part as the pregnancy goes on."

"Luckily we looked at the map," the woman said. "So we didn't have to search for it. Oh, and you know what I hate too, swollen ankles."

"You're a little early for that aren't you?" Beckett asked her friend before she sat down next to her.

"You're not," Lily replied.

"Why do you think I'm sitting?" Beckett said.

"I'm surprised our husbands didn't force us to stay… at your loft," Lily thought for a moment before she told her that.

"I didn't let him," Beckett said easily.

"Neither did I," Lily said before they started to laugh together. When they had calmed down enough she asked her friend, "Did he give you a foot massage last night?"

"Yeah," Beckett said. "Later on."

"I forced Brad to do that right away," Lily said. She then groaned and said, "This still feels weird."

"Watch by the time I have the baby," Beckett said with a smile as they had placed their hands on the curves of their abdomens at nearly the same time. "You get used to this."

"Probably," Lily said with a laugh. She then saw someone coming down the hall with them and with a smile said, "Looks like my kids are taking a while."

"For the moment, Brad will be able to round them up," Beckett told her teasingly before she held her arms out to her daughters, taking them in her embrace. She kissed them both and asked, "How did you like it?"

"It was fun!" Eliza said eagerly. "We saw a house and then knives and pretty clothes from tribes!"

"I think they had fun," Beckett said, looking up at her husband who was standing behind them.

"They did," Castle said, watching her stand. "And I did too."

"Good to hear," Beckett said before they turned to see that Lily was getting up. She glanced over at the hall where the elevators were and smiled seeing that Brad was there on his own. She turned back to her husband and said gently, " _Tapa_ ," before he was wrapping his arms around her and pulling her to him.

As his wife had said fast Castle went quickly before he pulled away and then said, " _Is it weird to say I missed you_?"

" _I don't think so, but luckily you stayed with them while you were_ ," Beckett replied. She then remembered their daughters and said, "So are you ready to see what there is next?"

Watching her little sister nodding her head rapidly; as their mother had been talking to her; Julia smiled and said, "She knows already."

"I forgot I was holding her when Brad mentioned it," Castle explained to his wife.

"That's alright," Beckett said with a soft laugh. "Should we go or wait for everyone else?"

"I think we can go," Castle said. "We seem to be going in groups of families anyway and…" he started to say before looking over at Brad and Lily. "They seem to be busy."

"Let's go," Beckett said with a smile before she took Eliza's hand. "Look sweetie."

"Saurs!" the little girl said happily though she had known they would be there already. She hurried to a stegosaurus and said, "Look at the plates!"

"They had little brains," Julia said to her sister.

"Yeah?" Eliza asked.

"They did," Castle told her. "And for a while people thought they must have had two of them but no they were just fine with what they had."

"Was it mean?" Eliza asked.

"This was one of the plant eaters," Beckett said. She and Castle then followed their daughters as they hurried ahead of them before she told him, " _Do you mind if we get some rest tonight_?"

" _I thought you might ask about that_ ," Castle said. " _Or suggest it I should say. But I agree we were_ …" He paused and then said, " _How many times did we end up being together_?"

" _I lost count after the fifth time_ ," Beckett said with a sigh as they watched the girls looking at a duck billed dinosaur. " _And that turned out to be seven times we… exploded_."

" _I'm proud of myself for joining you with that_ ," Castle replied. He smiled when his wife hit his chest with the back of her hand and then turned when he heard voices behind them. "Everyone's here," he said, speaking in English.

"It's still amazing to see Fleur," Beckett said, spotting the little girl as she was the only one with vibrant red hair. "But she is sweet," she added hurriedly as Skye had come over to them.

"Don't worry, I know you were expecting…" the investigator started to say before she stopped herself and frowned.

"She just looks very Irish," Castle said, trying to help.

"I told you yesterday her father was," Skye said simply. "Now Kate…" she started to say before looking for her youngest. When she saw Fleur was looking at another dinosaur with the other kids she turned to Beckett and said in Irish, " _Did your daughter keep close_?"

" _She did, she still does_ ," Beckett said reassuringly. _"So that's nothing to be worried about. And after what happened with you both… I know what that's like_ ," she added.

Nodding Skye heard her youngest calling to her and said a quick thank you to Beckett before she left them.

Once they'd managed to go through that hall and worked their way through the next one the group came to the hall of advanced mammals and Eliza screamed shortly before she ran to a display of different horses through time.

"I should have expected that," Beckett said wryly to her mother in law as they followed Castle over to the little girl.

"I know," Martha said with a laugh. "But that was a surprise this time."

"It was," Beckett laughed softly before they reached the two.

"Sorry!" Eliza said quickly to her parents. "I saw the horsies and I wanted to see them."

"Well now you are," Martha commented. "I'll go and see what Julia's doing," she told the three before she left them.

"Mommy they're too small," Eliza told her mother.

"I know but that's how they were a very long time ago," Beckett replied. "But they seem to be the perfect size for you."

Eliza giggled and then leaned against her mother, pressing her cheek to her stomach before telling her, "Am I still your baby?"

"Yes," Beckett said, knowing then her daughter had gotten enough pictures of the display if she was asking that. "You don't want to see the other animals?"

"Lizzy!" Julia called out. "Come see the mammoth!"

Left alone Beckett said to her husband, "I didn't think anything would distract her from this."

"You know she loves the movie _Ice Age_ ," Castle said. He opened his mouth to speak again when they heard their daughter cry out, "Manny," and he smiled saying, "She proved my case."

"I guess so," Beckett said with a soft laugh before she looked over at the entrance and shook her head.

"Don't start," Darnley said. "We overslept."

"And why is that?" Beckett asked him teasingly as she hugged him tightly once they'd reached each other.

"Oh… things," Darnley replied with a smile.

"Have we missed much?" Nkosi said as Beckett was hugging him next.

"Not too much though we're almost finished," she replied. Beckett watched as her husband greeted the two men and said, "You can meet Fleur now."

"Yes, we can," Darnley said. "We'll go over, don't keep up with us."

Beckett sighed before her husband took her hand and she smiled briefly at him as they walked over to where Darnley was speaking to Fleur with Skye's help. After the other kids had greeted the two men they moved to the next hall and the families broke up to walk with different people that time, her and her husband going with Darnley before Castle left them to go to the last hall. She glanced at her friend and was going to tell him the question she knew he was about to ask when he beat her to it.

"What are you doing next?" Darnley said.

"Going to lunch," Beckett replied easily before she looked at him pointedly.

"I know but we haven't had a night like that for a while," Darnley said simply. He laughed with her briefly before he said, "They have nice places here?"

"We're not eating here," Beckett replied as they looked at a fossil that had a large shell. " _Serendipity_. That we were planning to go to already before all our extra guests arrived."

"We can always leave and let it be you guys," Darnley told her. He laughed again when she pinched his arm gently and he said, "How're you?"

"Fine," Beckett said, watching him as they started to leave that hall as they'd walked back around to the entry.

"Enough sleep?" Darnley asked, keeping his voice low.

"Yes," Beckett replied, trying to sound annoyed though she couldn't help the smile on her face. She kissed his cheek and told him, "At least you made it for a little bit," before she walked over to her husband.

"What's next?" Marie asked as she was walking with all the other kids ahead of their parents.

"The last room," Mari said. "But it's a good one."

Looking up ahead Fleur gasped and then ran to Skye speaking to her rapidly in French before her mother calmed her down.

"What was that about?" Castle asked as they'd been watching the exchange.

"She said she'd seen these before," Skye answered. "And by that she means the T-Rex fossil; at the Natural History Museum in Paris."

"I thought she was scared," Martha commented.

"Oh no, she likes these," Mary said with a smile. "Not sure if you've noticed but they all fascinate her."

"Would be fantastic to have an archeologist in the family," Liam commented.

Laughing with Skye's dad the parents went with their children though Castle and Beckett remained behind with Darnley and Nkosi as their parents had gone with Julia and Eliza.

"Have you named the baby yet?" Nkosi was asking the two.

"No, we're still planning on waiting," Castle said, glancing at his wife.

"Better we do that to see her first," Beckett said with a slight sigh.

"You have names in mind though," Darnley pointed out to her as she looped her arm through his.

"Don't worry," Castle said with a smile as the man looked at him. "She was doing that with me yesterday."

"I was," Beckett replied. She sighed again when the three men looked at her and told them, "I'm fine; I haven't seen you since Christmas Patrick."

"I know, so I'm glad you're so clingy," Darnley told her before she socked him lightly on the arm. "So… we'll bring Maddy and Keo back here to come here one of these days," he said as they came up to the T-Rex the kids were looking at.

"Good though you realize you only saw a small fraction of things," Beckett told him.

"What we have seen we still want to show them," Nkosi commented before the kids were continuing. "Especially all of this."

"Smithsonian is nice," Castle commented.

"We know," Darnley said wryly. "But hey, you go to another city you head out to the museums there too."

"Is that it?" Eve asked Julia and Mari when they had looped the collection in that room.

"That's it, but that took two days," Julia said.

"Yeah…" Eve said. "Well that was cool, now what?"

"Shop!" Eliza exclaimed before she laughed with them and they went to their parents so they could go down to the gift shop.

"You two can get just one thing," Beckett told the girls as she saw they were hurrying over to the toys.

"Two," Castle said, coming over to them.

"Rick-" Beckett started to say before she looked over at him.

"These are my gifts to them," Castle said. When his wife frowned he quickly said, "Late Valentine's Day gifts."

"Can we get those?" Julia asked as she and her sister had turned to see what their father had.

"Yes, but you have to agree which-" Castle began before Julia took the banded onyx elephant and Eliza took the turtle. He smiled at his wife as their daughters thanked him and hugged him tightly before he said, "I couldn't help it."

"Just make sure it's only that," Beckett said. She squeezed his hand when he nodded and then looked with them at the two as they were looking over what was for sale.

"Mommy, is this okay?" Julia asked, going over to her after searching for a while.

Taking the box Beckett said, "This doesn't surprise me and yes you can get it."

"Thanks," Julia said happily before she turned to Mari. "You're gonna get it too?"

"Yep, for my letters," the little girl said with a smile. Mari then looked with her friend at Marie and Kathleen saying, "You too?"

"We write letters too," Kathleen replied with a smile. "And these are really nice."

"Yeah," Julia said in agreement as the stationery set was of postcards that had different natural history items like animals and shells. Since Mari went back to her parents to show them the set and the twins were looking at some books together she went to her mother who was looking at a thick book and she said, "Are you gonna get that?"

"No," Beckett replied as she set the tome back where it'd been. "Are you ready?"

"Is Lizzy ready?" Julia asked.

"She is," Castle said, coming over to them with the little girl skipping behind. He turned to Eliza and was about to speak to her when she detoured suddenly over to Jim. "Okay she is ready, and she'd like these," he said to his wife, showing her the box he had.

"That's fine but did you tell her she can't play with Dani with these?" Beckett said as she studied the set of magnet tiles.

"She knows but I think she'll still do it with us all there," Castle said.

"I'll talk to her," Beckett said in amusement. "Go ahead and pay," she told him as he took the set from Julia. "Want to look around a little more?"

"Yep, until Daddy's ready," Julia said with a nod. She took her mother's outstretched hand and they walked together over to the entrance to the store to join Eliza and Jim looking around at everything on sale there.

* * *

"You weren't kidding," Darnley said to Beckett after they'd ordered their desserts.

"I warned you we'd be getting dessert," she replied with a smile. "I'm surprised you copied us."

"Fruit sounds really good right now," Darnley answered. He then said, "So is everything ready at your house?"

"It is, the furniture is all set and we have clothes for her," Beckett replied. "And supplies," she quickly added as she knew her friend was going to ask about that. "We're just waiting for her to join us. Still a while."

"I'm guessing it's annoying?" Darnley asked with a smile.

"Very," Beckett said, her hand on her abdomen. She looked over at her husband who was walking to them and said, "We've ordered."

"Great, now about tonight," Castle began.

"I'm leaving it up to you," Beckett replied though they'd talked about that already.

"Dim sum," Castle said easily.

"Alright," Beckett said with a smile. "Hopefully they won't mind," she said, glancing around at the others as they were separated in the restaurant.

"I don't think so," Castle replied.

Beckett couldn't say anything to that at first as the waiter was bringing out their desserts and she watched the girls look eagerly at their frozen hot chocolate they were sharing. "Take turns remember," she told them.

"We know," Julia and Eliza said at the same time before they took a sip at the same time. They laughed at each other once they'd swallowed the peanut butter ice drink and then started to take turns as their parents had told them to do.

"Rick, you texted them didn't you?" Beckett asked her husband.

"And talked to them while we were going through the museum," Castle commented before he looked over at Darnley and Nkosi.

"That's fine," Darnley said first.

"We do enjoy Dim Sum," Nkosi added.

"What will you do after this?" Darnley said. "And please answer me."

Beckett smiled and said, "We're splitting up for the time being. They're going back to their hotels for a few hours and then coming to the loft since of course we'll be eating at…"

"At least six," Castle replied. "Since I ordered dinner on short notice."

"They'll get to play," Darnley said. "Mind if we go to the loft?"

"You've never been there for that long have you?" Beckett asked her friend.

"No, we went to see it but since we were going to the ball we didn't stay that long," Darnley replied, reminding himself.

"Then you should come over," Beckett said firmly.

"Will do," Darnley said before he smiled as she rolled her eyes.

Turning her attention back to the dessert she and her husband were sharing Beckett also looked at their daughters, relieved to see they were sharing without any real difficulties. When they'd all finished eating she watched Castle pay the bill a little impatiently, wanting to get back to the loft with her friend. She was distracted when they needed to say goodbye to everyone else but finally they were in cabs, heading over to the building and going up to their city home.

"Did I mention that I can tell it's a nice building?" Darnley told his friend as they walked together down the hall.

"It is," Beckett said. "I'm going to remind you this was his home way before I came along."

"What does that matter love?" Castle asked, turning to his wife at the door where he was getting the key ready to unlock it. "The beach house I bought before we met and yet it's yours."

"He's trying to get me to tell you that my name is here at the loft too," Beckett said wryly. "Open the door so we can go in love."

"Right," Castle said before turning his attention to it and unlocking it. "Welcome to our city home again and now we can give you a tour through the whole thing."

Beckett smiled as Darnley nodded to that before walking inside and she followed him saying, "I should show you the roof too."

"I noticed now we're seeing it in the daytime," Darnley began.

"It looks like you have a forest up there," Nkosi commented.

"Almost," Julia said.

"Can you take your things up to your room girls?" Beckett asked the girls.

"But what about the tour?" Eliza asked in protest.

"We'll wait until you come back," Castle told them as he handed over the bag they'd gotten from the museum. "And don't run." He turned to the two men and when he saw they were holding their coats he said, "Let me take those."

"And you should sit," Darnley told his friend.

Shooting a glare at him Beckett said, "I'm fine. And I'll let you know if I'm not of course. Plus, I need to walk a little."

"She's right, she does," Castle commented. "I'm wondering about-"

"Don't say the stairs," Beckett said quickly, interrupting him. "I was walking up and down them yesterday." She then said to Darnley and Nkosi, "They like to coddle me."

"It is a good thing they do," Nkosi commented.

"I know, it's just a bit…" Beckett began.

"Grating?" Castle suggested as the girls were coming down the stairs.

"That," Beckett said with a smile, shaking her head before she looked at the girls approaching her. "We'll start the tour now with our room and then work our way upstairs." She let her husband take her hand before they went to their room first and she stood aside with him to watch as Darnley looked around for a moment before he spoke to her.

"I can see it's definitely both your guys' room," he told them.

"It had to be," Castle said. "I find it hard to believe her influence wouldn't have showed up. The same thing happened at the beach house although that one we had redecorated together," he said, looking at his wife.

"We don't have to do that here," Beckett said with a smile. "The office is right through here," she said as she went over to the doorway.

"Nice," Darnley said, looking at the shelves of books. He peered at a few titles more closely and said, "You ever write here with him?" to Beckett.

Beckett smiled very slightly and told him, "No, we have planned here before but that was before I wrote with him."

"You have done it all at the beach house?" Nkosi asked.

"We've planned here after love," Castle said.

"True," Beckett said with a nod as they walked out the office and over to the kitchen. "But we normally plan wherever we are, whenever we feel like it."

Nodding Darnley said, "When did you start on your books?"

"In Ireland," Beckett said, looking at him. "You already knew that; why did you ask?" she said with a smile.

"Just making sure," Darnley replied. "So far this place is very nice but probably a good thing you're living in the beach house."

"It is," Beckett replied, shaking her head as she smiled again at him as she placed her hand on her stomach. "But last is upstairs."

"We can show you our room first," Eliza said eagerly as she and her sister hurried up the steps. Going to the doorway at the top of the stairs she turned back with her sister and pointed inside saying, "This was 'lexis' room first."

"But now it's for the three of you," Darnley said with a smile.

"It is," Julia said. "Like it?"

"I do, luckily that bed is big enough for the three of you," Darnley said before he looked at his husband.

"I was looking at the pictures you have here," Nkosi said quickly, turning from the wall.

"Last is my room," Martha said. "I'll lead the way."

Julia was about to walk after the others when she felt a hand on her shoulder and looked up to see that it was Darnley. "You're gonna miss my gram's room," she told him.

"I know but when we finish tell me a story about when you and your mom were here?" he asked.

"When? We've been here a lot," Julia replied.

"True… whatever you think might be the most interesting one," Darnley replied with a smile.

Nodding Julia walked with him over to Martha's room as she was thinking over the story she could tell him about. She glanced at her sister at one point, wondering if she should include her but the realized her mother's friend wanted to hear about the time before her parents had gotten married. Something came to mind and she waited until they were downstairs and at the couch and armchairs. She went to him and said, "I've got a story."

"Great, sit with me and tell me all about it," Darnley told her quickly.

"What story?" Beckett asked as her husband handed her a cup of tea.

"He asked me to tell a story about when we were here," Julia replied. "Before they got married right?" she asked Darnley to make sure. When he nodded she smiled and then began her story saying, "This happened after we went to the beach house for the first time… I think it was before Halloween," looking at her mother.

"Towards the end of September," Beckett replied, nodding.

Julia smiled and looking back at Darnley and Nkosi she continued, remembering everything easily though she'd been young during the time.

* * *

 _"Sweetie calm down," Beckett told her daughter with a smile as she watched her hopping from foot to foot next to her._

 _"I wanna give Castle the picture I made," Julia said a little shyly._

 _"We're almost there," Beckett assured her. The elevator stopped then and she walked off with her daughter and down the hall to her boyfriend's loft._

 _"Hey, I was wondering if you guys were going to get here," Castle told them teasingly as he opened the door to them. He stepped aside for them to come inside and looked at Julia as she gave him a picture, telling him all about it. He thanked her once she had finished and after putting it on the island in the kitchen he went back to them and said, "We're on our own for the rest of the day." When his girlfriend looked at him in surprise he explained, "Mother went out to theaters for her students that have rehearsals and Alexis is out with friends… and going to a party. I warned her her gram would need to pick her up if she did so for too long."_

 _Beckett smiled a little and then said, "I don't blame you for telling her that. But you're alright spending time with her?"_

 _"Yes," Castle replied._

 _"Unable to take her outside," Beckett then stated._

 _"We can always go up to the roof for a little," Castle told her._

 _"Why doesn't it surprise me you planned that," Beckett replied. She was startled when he stepped over to her and they kissed gently before she glanced at her daughter. "And since you've already done some planning what are we doing now?"_

 _Julia, having been watching her mother and Castle, smiled as they were kissing and went to the windows at the other end of the room to look up at the sky seeing it was still raining. She glanced back at the two again and tried not to giggle too hard when she saw they were still together. She glanced around the room then near her as she was feeling a little bored and hurried over to the office._

 _"Okay, that was just for now," Castle said once he and his girlfriend had parted and he kept from kissing her again with all of his might. "And… where's Julia?" he said when he realized she wasn't there._

 _"Your office," Beckett said as she'd quickly spotted her daughter since her sweater was a bright blue._

 _"Great that's what I thought of first," Castle told her as they went over to the room. "Hide and seek."_

 _Beckett rolled her eyes, as she was aware he had just thought of it, but knew her daughter would enjoy it so she called to Julia, "Would you like to play hide and seek sweetie?"_

 _"Yeah!" the little girl said eagerly, looking over from some of her games that she had there. She hurried to the two and asked them, "Who's it first?"_

 _"Here," Castle said, chanting a rhyme that Alexis had used before for the same game. "Okay, your mom is it first, so Beckett?" he asked, looking at her._

 _Smirking at him for a moment Beckett then closed her eyes and proceeded to count, going to fifteen since she knew her daughter would need the time to hide in the house. Once she was done she called out to the two that she was going to look for them before she went to the space underneath the stairs. "Castle," she said with a frown when she easily spotted him there. "You didn't even try."_

 _"I'm a little too tall to hide like I used to when I was Julia's age," he told her with a simple smile. "Punish me later?" Castle asked her._

 _Suppressing a sigh Beckett then told him, "Then you're it next and we need to find her."_

 _"Yes we do," Castle said with a nod before he reached out to her and took her wrist gently. As she playfully glared at him he brought her close to him and murmured, "I've missed you."_

 _"So have I," Beckett replied before he pulled her even closer. When their lips met she wrapped her arms around him though she was pleased when he carefully pulled back shortly after. "We can't keep doing this," she said seriously._

 _"That's why I'm kind of glad her bedtime is earlier," Castle said. He was relieved when his girlfriend smiled slightly at him before he followed her, going over to his room._

 _"She didn't go upstairs," Beckett said as she reached the doorway. "Luckily, I should have told her she needed to stay down here," she told her boyfriend. "So she's somewhere here." When he started to walk over to the bathroom she stopped him and told him, "Not you."_

 _"Why not? Essentially, I'm it," Castle replied, smiling at her._

 _"Next time," Beckett told him simply. "I'll look for her," she finished before she went over to the bathroom herself. She looked around the room but soon found that her daughter wasn't there. Going back out she said, "She must have snuck out to the office when I was looking for you," to Castle._

 _"I wouldn't be surprised," he commented as he leaned against his dresser. He watched her go into the room and said in surprise, "She's not there?"_

 _"No," Beckett said with a slight frown before she paused. She'd been about to go over to the entry closet before she thought that over and then went over to the closet there in the room before opening the door. She gasped when as soon as she'd done that her daughter took off past her like a shot and she ran after Julia until she saw she was jumping onto the couch which was 'home.' She smiled and then reached down for Julia saying, "You're lucky, Castle is it."_

 _"Where did you hide?" the little girl asked him, giggling softly as she wrapped her arms around her mother._

 _"Right over there," Castle replied, pointing the space out._

 _Glancing at it Julia frowned and then said, "That's not hiding," before she paused. She began to laugh and somehow managed to tell her mother, "He did that so you saw him."_

 _"I know," Beckett replied. "Now it's his turn-"_

 _"No," Julia said quickly. She moved her legs slightly before her mother set her down and she hurried to Castle, taking his hand._

 _"I guess we're heading out," he told his girlfriend with a smile as he saw soon they were going over to the entry._

 _"She can understand you," Beckett said with a smile. She went over after them and helped Castle get Julia into her rain jacket before she threw on her own. Setting an umbrella on her arm she went with her boyfriend and daughter out of the loft before they made their way up to the roof which didn't take long. Stepping outside she handed Julia the little girl's umbrella she'd brought up with them and told her, "Don't go crazy."_

 _"I won't," the little girl replied before she rushed out to the uncovered part of the roof._

 _"J-" Beckett started to say when she saw her daughter let go of her umbrella._

 _"Easy," Castle told her gently as he placed his hand on her shoulder. "You brought extra clothes, right?"_

 _"Did you expect her to do this?" Beckett asked him as he'd suggested she do that._

 _"Yeah, come on," Castle said, taking her umbrella off her arm slowly. When she smiled at him he set it aside after closing it and together they went over to the little girl who was spinning with her arms above her head._

 _"Mommy!" Julia said happily when she saw her mother was in the rain as well._

 _"We're taking a bath after this," Beckett said. "Well, you are," she said._

 _"What about you Mommy?" Julia asked._

 _"She can take a shower," Castle replied. "And then we'll play something else. For now, why don't we go through the puddles?"_

 _"Yeah," Julia said eagerly before she went to where some water had pooled on the roof's surface. She began to jump up and down as much as she could in it before she went to her mother and pulled her after her. "Mommy," she giggled as her mother then spun around with her holding onto her arms. After they had stopped she hugged her tightly and then began to tap her feet around._

 _"I should have known she was going to want to dance," Castle said as he and Beckett watched her. He thought of something and asked his girlfriend, "Did you ever show her_ Singing in the Rain _?"_

 _"No," Beckett said, smiling as she knew what he would likely say next._

 _"Then we should do that…" Castle started to say._

 _"After dinner," Beckett said. "For now, we play," she added before they went together out to the little girl. She had to admit it was fun playing in the rain as an adult; knowing that reason was because of Julia. But when they stopped, completely soaked, she said with a smile, "We better get ready to go inside."_

 _"I know, it's just past three," Castle told her._

 _"We were out there for that long?" Beckett asked in surprise. When Castle nodded she said, "Then you had a lot of fun," to her daughter._

 _"Yeah," Julia said eagerly before they went over to the door, standing crowded together under the covered part in front of it. Once her mother took her hand she walked after her and Castle inside and then back down to the loft. There she was ushered upstairs to the bathtub in Alexis' bathroom where she warmed herself in the water her mother drew for her. "Mommy?" she eventually asked._

 _"Yes sweetie?" Beckett asked as she helped her daughter out since she had finished getting her washed and cleaned._

 _"Is Castle gonna watch me now?" Julia said._

 _"He is but I think he wants you to help him pick out what to make for dinner," Beckett replied as she dried her off thoroughly._

 _"Kay," Julia said eagerly before her mother took her down to the kitchen where Castle was. She hugged her tightly before she went to take her shower and she said to him, "Do I get to pick?"_

 _"Yeah, but let's make sure it's something your mom likes too," he told her._

 _Julia nodded seriously and then went with him to the fridge where he opened the door and she looked at everything there was while he told her what they could make; knowing they were going to pick for her mother especially to her delight._

* * *

 _"Sweetie come here," Beckett said, watching her daughter in front of her._

 _"Will the movie show on there?" Julia asked, going over to her mother as she sat on the couch._

 _"It will," Beckett said. "We've watched movies here before."_

 _"Oh," Julia said. "We don't get to see a cartoon?" she asked after a brief pause._

 _"No," Beckett replied with a smile. "But don't worry you'll really like this movie."_

 _"You should just tell her," Castle said, coming around to them from where he'd been busy in the kitchen._

 _"Hold on," Beckett told her daughter when she reached for the popcorn her boyfriend had made. "Speedy Gonzalez, you need to wait for the movie to start."_

 _Watching the little girl giggling heavily Castle said, "I'd tell Alexis the same thing."_

 _"Yeah? Julia asked._

 _"Of course, she was diving right in before the movie started," Castle replied as he grabbed the remotes on the coffee table in front of them. He started the movie and said, "But Julia this movie has singing."_

 _"Kay," the little girl said, looking confused._

 _"And dancing," Castle added. He smiled when his girlfriend smacked his arm with the back of her hand for the pause, but they then turned their attention to Julia._

 _"Really? Ballet?" Julia asked._

 _"Not that," Beckett answered, nodding to Castle to start the movie. She wasn't surprised when her daughter was watching the movie closely and when the first dance started she had to smile at the sight of the awe on Julia's face. The fact that stayed there for every dance after she had a feeling her daughter was going to want to see more like that._

 _"Does she need to go to bed?" Castle asked when the movie was over._

 _"No, we can start something else," Beckett said as she checked the time and looked at her daughter, seeing she was still very much awake. "A cartoon preferably."_

 _Nodding Castle quickly found some Looney Tunes available and listened to Julia's laughter becoming slower and slower as time went on. He eventually looked at the little girl when that stopped and murmured, "Bed?"_

 _Not sure why exactly Beckett shook her head once and then looked at the screen as he turned off the cartoon and then the projector himself. "You-" she started to say before she cut herself off when he wrapped his arms around her. She decided she didn't really need to question him and instead settled against his side before she spoke, asking him about what they would do the next day with Julia as he held them both._


	29. It's In The Hands Of My Love (Part 2)

"You really told that story?" Mari asked. "To everyone?"

"Yep," Julia replied. "Even though I didn't remember when Daddy was holding me and my mom 'cause I was asleep already. They told me that later."

"Cool," Mari murmured. "Think anyone will find us?"

"They're gonna try to find us soon I bet," Julia said with a smile.

Looking around her Mari said, "This is weird," as they were in the corner of her friends' parents' closet.

"I know but Daddy didn't want to fill it in so there's a space," Julia said.

"Julia," a voice then said from outside.

"Oh, now they're looking for us," the girl said with a smile at her friend.

"Will she be mad you're here?" Mari asked. "We're here," she corrected herself.

"Nah," Julia said as she got up, going over to her mother who was coming up to the doorway. "Hi," she said.

"Did you get tired of everyone?" Beckett asked as she watched Mari come up behind her daughter.

"Nope," Julia said. "I was telling Mari the story I said earlier."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said with a smile. "Come on, Tommy wants to play with you."

"Play what?" Julia asked in surprise as the little boy usually played with Eliza.

"Bowling," Beckett answered as they stepped out into the living room to find some plastic pins set up near the door. "And we're going to eat soon," she continued. She watched Julia and Mari hurry to the others who were getting ready to start bowling and she went to Lanie who was sitting on the couch talking to Lily and Jenny, waiting for them to finish before she was about to speak.

"How are you?" Ryan's wife asked, turning to Beckett then.

"She just asked me the same thing," Lily said quickly before her friend could answer that.

"I'm fine like I said to everyone when they arrived," Beckett said in amusement. "How're you?" she directed to Lanie.

"Fine we haven't talked about the wedding," the doctor replied.

"That's not what I'm asking about," Beckett said with a smile on her face. "Being engaged?"

"It's… I'm getting used to it… slowly," Lanie said, looking down at her ring which had a diamond band and a teardrop diamond surrounded by tiny diamonds.

"That is a beautiful ring," Mary said, coming over to sit with them.

"Thank you," Lanie said with a smile. "I'll get used to this," she directed to Beckett, startled when all the women said yes at nearly the same time. "Okay," she said with a laugh.

"And you'll get used to your band when it joins that one," Mary commented.

Smiling briefly Lanie then looked around and said, "We're all here but Skye."

"She had to… take a phone call," Mary replied.

"She's working even now?" Jenny asked.

"You don't know her too well," Beckett said. "And she'll only do something like this if it's absolutely necessary."

"It is," Mary said quickly as Beckett looked at her. "It's for the plane…" she began before trailing off and looking over at her daughters with the other kids. "Excuse me."

"I was talking to Lily about how she and Brad are in getting ready for their new arrival," Jenny said then. "I didn't ask either of you last night."

"We're ready," Beckett said with a smile as Darnley was walking over to them with Castle. "So now we're waiting."

"Is this it for you?" Jenny asked.

"It is," Castle replied first. "Her choice and I agree, three girls is a good amount… plus Alexis. I never know which I should say first," he told his wife.

"Either," Beckett replied easily. "And he's right, we-" she began before she was cut off by the sudden cry of one of the kids.

"Maman!" Fleur was saying as she looked around. Not seeing her in the room she burst into tears and nearly sat down on the floor where she was when she saw Beckett standing up. She ran over to her and buried her face against her side as she cried.

"Come on," Beckett said, not sure the girl would understand her. "Let's see if we can find your maman." She was relieved when Fleur went with her as they went around the bowling pins to the door, glancing back at her husband.

"You're not going to follow?" Darnley asked Castle.

"I don't think I'd be of much help," he replied. He caught sight of Esposito as he looked back to the kids and said, "I've learned some restraint. Ask her."

"Can't, she stepped out," Esposito said before Castle rolled his eyes and he picked up his godson as Tommy came over to him.

In the hall Beckett started to walk over to the access door to the roof before she paused as she heard running around the corner from it. When Skye appeared a moment later she let go of Fleur's hand, watching the little girl as she cried out to her mother and ran to her. She stayed back a little bit as she watched them speaking rapidly in French to each other for a moment before the investigator looked at her. "Is she alright?"

"She is, she just got a bit scared when I wasn't there… where was Mary?" Skye asked, sounding concerned herself.

"She excused herself to use the restroom," Beckett answered.

"Ah, that makes more sense," Skye said with a nod. "Alright then she really got scared. Julia…" she began to say.

Nodding her head Beckett said in Russian, " _The same though as time went by she got better_." She turned around to walk with them back to the loft and saw a man with two bags walking down the hall. "We really need to go back now," she said with a smile to her friend.

"Are you hungry?" Skye asked slowly for her daughter.

" _Oui_ ," Fleur replied quickly. When her mother squeezed her hand gently she then said, "Yes," carefully.

Beckett smiled at the little girl who came over to her and she said, "Better?"

"Yes," Fleur repeated. " _Mer_ … thank you," she began to say before stopping and correcting herself.

"Are you guys going to come in?" Castle said, looking out into the hall at them after he'd stuck his head out the doorway.

"No one ran into those bowling pins, did they?" Skye asked.

"They took them away really fast," Castle said as he stepped aside for the three to walk back inside. "Kind of creepy."

Beckett shook her head and said, "Better than you kicking everything away." When he smiled at her she did the same back to him and took her husband's hand to pull him after her to the kitchen so they could take everything out and get the food set up on the counter and island.

"Alright," Castle said once he and his wife had everything ready. "Dinner is served so let's line up; parents should get the food for their kids first."

"And they're just eating on their own?" Esposito said.

"We can watch them," Eve, Jacob, Julia and Mari said at the same time. They looked at each other and then laughed before they went with their parents to get their food.

Once the kids were sitting together around one table the adults went to get their food, Beckett and Lily being urged to go first though they'd tried to protest.

"Guys you're guests in my house," Beckett said though she was grabbing some _bao_.

"And only two of us are also pregnant," Martha said. "I don't think they'll let you wait kiddo."

"Alright," Beckett said, laughing softly. She then went over to the table and sat, watching her husband talking to Ryan as they were waiting before she turned her attention to Lily. "I didn't think we would need name cards, but they help."

"They do," Lily replied. "And while I don't think we needed to be first I appreciate it."

"I knew it," Brad said as he was sitting with her then. "Too much at the museum."

"And two days of it," Castle said, joining his wife.

"Wait, you were just waiting to get your food," Beckett said in surprise as she looked at her husband.

"I was but they let me jump ahead," Castle commented. "And him too."

"Which I appreciated," Brad said.

"We were next," David said as he and Rebecca sat down. "This was an interesting party."

"Definitely for me," Castle said. "At least here in the loft."

Not surprised when the other two couples looked slightly confused Beckett told them, "Meaning kids, we've had parties for kids at the beach house but here… this would be the first."

"They're fine," Jim said, seeing his daughter's gaze go over to the other table. "I've been watching them."

"You have?" Beckett asked her father with a smile.

"Of course," Jim replied. "That many together…"

Looking with everyone else Castle was surprised when Julia went straight to Ryan and Jenny and spoke to them quietly.

"He needs to stay with us," the latter said with a smile for the girl. "But thank you for offering."

"She asked to take Danny over there?" Beckett asked when Julia had gone back with the other kids.

"Yeah, we can't really ask them to babysit while they eat," Ryan said. "It's hard enough trying to do that when you're an adult," he added as his youngest son was trying to grab his fork.

With some laughter the adults began to talk about plans for the summer when the others asked Beckett and Lily what they would be doing.

"That's a good question," the latter said first, glancing at her friend.

"You want me to answer?" Beckett asked with a slight smile. "I'll be a month further from giving birth than you."

"Not for me to delay me needing to answer," Lily replied before they both started to laugh.

"If we're going to go somewhere we'd need to figure something out," Castle said, looking at his wife.

"We've talked about this, but we never really said anything for sure," Beckett replied with a sigh. "Okay…"

"I did think of something," Castle replied as he knew his wife was waiting for him to say that. "Orlando," he continued as she didn't say anything.

"That's a great idea," Lily said immediately. She glanced over at the kids and seeing that they weren't listening she said, "We've never taken them to Disney."

"Not just that," Castle said, not surprised she had latched onto that suggestion. "But Universal."

"That would be nice," Martha said. "But would you be alright taking a baby through there."

"We wouldn't ask you to go just to babysit Martha," Beckett told her mother in law quickly.

"It wouldn't be a problem," Jim said.

"Does this mean we can go?" Castle asked his wife.

"First when," Beckett said simply.

"I'd say…" Castle began slowly.

"After the Fourth of July," Beckett told him.

"That late?" Esposito said. "Aren't there hurricanes?"

"Right after," Castle told him. "And we would only stay for as long as it would take to cover all the parks the two places have."

"Two weeks?" Beckett asked him.

"That would be enough," Rebecca said. She smiled when everyone looked at her and told them, "Friends of ours; the Oakleys; did that and it took them about two weeks. It helps there's no jet lag."

"Um… we're not inviting ourselves," Skye said when everyone turned to herself and her wife.

"Would you like to go?" Castle asked.

"In that case yes, we would," Skye replied. "Would love to see the Harry Potter section that's there since it was the original."

"Anyone else wants to go with us?" Castle then asked as he looked around the table.

"We'll go," David said. "No way can we leave Mari out of that trip."

"I don't know," Ryan said as Castle and Beckett looked to him then.

"Neither do I," Esposito replied.

"Or us," Lanie said, motioning to herself and Dylan. "We don't have flexible schedules like you all do."

"I don't think we can go, work for us both of course and the kids are still a little young now," Darnley said, looking at his husband when they were the last to be looked at.

"But it should still be a fun trip," Nkosi replied, nodding his head. "Are you sure you all can not do the same?"

"I need to save my time off for the holidays," Ryan said. "If we went we'd only be able to go for…"

"A few days at the most," Jenny replied. "And I have to do the same with my leave."

"Same for me, my mother would be upset if I didn't make some time for Christmas with the family," Esposito said.

"You just don't want to go to Disney," Beckett told him with a smile. She rolled her eyes when he bit into some of his food and she then said, "I'm not going to ask because I know already," to Lanie and Dylan.

"Do you have a place picked out for your honeymoon at least?" Skye asked the two.

"He wants to surprise me," Lanie replied. "But I'd like to show him Louisiana."

"Your parents' home?" Castle asked.

"Among other things," Lanie said. "He's never been."

"You could go to both," David suggested.

"That's right, I forgot you two went to different places," Lanie said. She looked at her fiancé and said, "We could."

"We could, we can fly from wherever to New Orleans, couldn't we?" Dylan asked. He then said, "I'll have to see how long it takes"

"Want to give me a clue?" Lanie said immediately.

"He's set on the surprise," Beckett told her friend with a smile.

"Right… well I think we can do that," Dylan said. "Another thing to plan."

"That's usually how it goes," Castle said. When the others looked at him he shook his head saying, "I'm not an expert in that."

"His previous two were in Hawaii," Beckett said, glancing at him.

"A friend's home," Castle replied. He shrugged and said, "It was quick."

"But you did plan your trip through Ireland," Lily pointed out to him.

"I did," Castle said. "Because I'd been there before, some of those places before." He turned his attention to Dylan and told the man. "You'll have more luck I'm sure."

"It's likely," he replied with a laugh.

The group broke off into different conversations then as they were getting up to clear the table. Once they had done the same with the kids' table the kids were allowed to play with the bowling set that belonged to Tommy. The adults sat on the couch and around it, talking and watching the children at the same time until Ryan and Jenny's oldest went to his parents.

"I was hoping we'd be here for a little longer," the former said with a sigh as he picked up his son.

"It understandable," Castle said, getting up to take the mugs that Ryan and Jenny had been drinking coffee out of. He took them to the kitchen as quickly as he could and raced to the door to join everyone else in saying goodbye to the family, Esposito included as he was leaving as well. "They abandoned us," he said jokingly when Lanie and Dylan left just after the others.

"It's still the weekend," Beckett replied with a smile. "You heard them."

"I did," Castle said with a nod. "So… oh not you guys too," he said with a mock groan when he saw that David was getting his wife's coat.

"Dani's asleep," the man replied with a smile.

"And that brings us to the question we need to ask now," Rebecca said. "Can Mari stay the night with you?"

"Yes," Beckett said immediately as Julia's mouth opened to speak. "But it's not really going to be a sleepover." She shot her husband a confused looked when their oldest made a face and she said, "What's that for?"

"It's like a school night, we know Mommy," Julia said before she hurried to her mother to hug her tightly. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Beckett said, trying not to laugh at the expression on her daughter's face. "Say goodbye to them."

"And to us," Lily commented as her husband was going to the closet.

"And us," Skye said. "We're all a bit tired, a lot of walking."

"We can go too," Darnley said when Beckett looked at him.

"You don't need to," she replied quickly. When her friend smiled she then turned to say goodbye to everyone else, leaving Skye and her family last.

"We'll see one another soon," the investigator said as she and Beckett were embracing while her family waited. "At the very least by summer though I'm going to try my hardest in seeing the baby. We will."

"Come for a weekend," Beckett urged her as they pulled back to look at each other. "Remember we talked about that."

"Alright," Skye said. "We'll do that." She let go of her and then asked in Russian, " _Have you seen_ Fleur _in that past life_?" She wasn't surprised when her friend shook her head and she then said, " _If you do let me know_."

" _I will_ ," Beckett said before they stepped out to the hallway to watch everyone leave. "You guys don't need to go to bed yet but it's going to be soon."

"We're leaving early tomorrow," Castle added as Julia and Mari looked annoyed. "You definitely Mari since your parents are going to be coming to pick you up."

"What can we do?" Julia asked her mother.

"Pick a game," Beckett said. "But one your sister can play too."

Julia nodded and she rushed with her little sister and friend to the office to find a game they could play together. While they were doing that she smiled at Mari, glad she could stay over though they wouldn't be able to have a normal sleepover like they did at home. Thinking of home, she couldn't help feeling slightly homesick, pushing the thought quickly out of her mind as they returned to everyone else with their choice so they could play before they needed to go to bed.

* * *

"What would you like to chat about?" Darnley asked his friend.

"Something short, I feel bad your husband is going to be waiting for you at your room," Beckett told him.

"What about yours?" Darnley replied, nodding to the bedroom.

With a smile Beckett said, "He'll be reading or playing on his phone. Something until I go in."

"Now I'm wondering if I should leave," Darnley said.

"We're not going to," Beckett said. "Did you hear me when I told you that we were going to leave early tomorrow morning?"

"That and you're tired too," Darnley shot back.

Sighing Beckett said, "I forgot you can be observant."

"Hard not to notice," Darnley answered simply. "What would you like to talk about?"

"Oh no, I could tell that it was you that wanted to talk to me," Beckett replied.

With a wide smile Darnley said, "I think you already answered my question."

"We're fine," Beckett said, not surprised he was wondering about that.

"No, I'm wondering about how it goes when you're pregnant," Darnley said.

"It's the same," Beckett said. "Well… this gets in the way," she said as she looked down at her abdomen. "But it's more Rick that gets worried about it."

"I'd heard men do that," Darnley said. "Well… I saw it in a movie and was wondering about it."

"Rick does," Beckett said with a smile. "But I manage to keep that from taking over everything with him."

With a nod Darnley then said, "I'm also wondering when exactly I should go."

"Well if you want to see the baby right after it's born-" Beckett started to say as she gently ran her hand over her stomach.

"Right after?" Darnley asked in surprise.

"After her family sees her," Beckett said, smiling at him.

"Then I do," Darnley said swiftly.

Still smiling Beckett told him, "Rick will send out a text and you can come as soon as is possible for you."

"Luckily Trev has some connections," Darnley said.

"You need to go?" Beckett asked him with a smile.

"I don't need… okay yes I do," Darnley replied with a slight laugh. They stood up and he watched as his friend stopped suddenly. "Good kick?" he asked her.

"Hard," Beckett replied, taking his hand. When he felt the next kick, she smiled as he laughed and she said, "She's getting a lot stronger."

"She'll have great legs for a dancer," Darnley said before he tucked her arm through his, pulling her over to the closet in the entry.

"Yeah, Rick says the same thing," Beckett said before she turned to see that the door to the bedroom was opening. "He's leaving now," she told her husband as he stepped out.

"No, just wanted to say bye again," Castle said, walking over to them as Darnley was putting on his coat. "And did she tell you that we'll send a text as soon as she goes into labor?"

"She did, I'll come but I won't stay for too long," the man said. Darnley quickly raised his hand to keep his friend from protesting and told her, "I will want to go back with my family."

"Rick-" Beckett began to say, turning to her husband.

"We can go," Castle said. When he saw Darnley looked confused he explained, "We can take the train up to DC if you're alright with us being there this summer."

"We'll stay at the same hotel we went to earlier," Beckett said quickly.

"Do that," Darnley said, throwing his arms around his friend though being careful as he did. "I'll miss you Kate. Take things easy and I want to talk as much as possible."

"We will," Beckett promised him before she finally forced herself to let him go. "Come when she's born."

"Definitely," Darnley said seriously.

After he'd said goodbye to the man Castle stayed in the entry while his wife went out into the hall. "Okay?" he asked her as he saw she appeared a little teary eyed.

Opening her mouth to speak Beckett shook her head and said with a sob, "I don't know why I'm crying."

"You miss him already," Castle said lightly as he wrapped his arm around her and gently pulled her into their room. When the door was closed and locked behind them he gently rubbed her back saying, "I wish he could move to the Hamptons; or even here. At least in the city he'd be able to see you in an hour or hour and a half.'

Beckett smiled and said, "He's a DC boy, but we'll still see him often."

"Yeah he loves you too, he doesn't want to lose that connection for sure," Castle told her, kissing her temple.

Sniffing slightly as she managed to control her tears Beckett asked him, "Where are you taking me?"

"I thought you might want a bath," Castle replied easily. He smiled when his wife did and he took her into the bathroom where he drew the water for her and helped her inside though she was protesting as he was doing that. "I'll grab your pajamas," he assured her once she was sitting in the water.

"Oh… I almost thought you wanted to-" Beckett started to say.

"No, no," Castle told her hurriedly. "I locked the door just out of habit," he replied.

With a smile and a nod Beckett watched him go before she leaned back and let the water cover her up to her shoulders. She felt relaxed and was soon so much so that she was falling asleep before she realized it.

Going over to his wife Castle smiled when he saw she was asleep, but he carefully woke her up saying, "Hey," very gently.

"Hey," Beckett breathed out as she looked around in surprise. "Oh, I'm more tired than I thought."

"Do you want me to wash your back? Any other parts of you?" Castle asked.

Beckett smiled at his wording and shook her head before she said, "No that's alright, let me get up."

"And that's another reason why we don't need to make love," Castle said while he was watching as he held a towel in his hands. "I'm tired myself."

"I'm surprised," Beckett said, smiling tenderly at him as he was so serious while he was drying her off.

"Oh, don't get me wrong," Castle told her, looking up at her and smiling. " _Tá tú bandia_."

"Thank you," Beckett said with a soft laugh as he said she was a goddess. " _Feichfidh mé de dhíth ort arís_ ," she then told him as she dressed once she was dry, saying she would need him again.

" _Mar sin, beidh mé_ ," Castle replied saying so would he. "I adore you," he told her seriously once she had her robe on. He was startled when she suddenly burst into tears; swearing in Irish as well; before he realized why she was doing that. He hurried over to her and wrapped his arms around her as tightly as he could telling her, "I do."

"I know, I'm just…" Beckett tried to say before she stopped herself and then shook her head before burying her face into his shoulder.

"It's alright," Castle told her tenderly, kissing the side of her head. "Come on, you should get to the bed now," he then said before leading her out to it. They sat together and he said, "You did this before when you were carrying Eliza."

"I don't know why… I've never been insecure about myself," Beckett said, about to take the handkerchief her husband was handing her before he gently moved her hand away so he could dry her tears himself. She smiled at him and with a shuddering breath told him, "I've never really let myself care that much but with you…"

"I know," Castle said, taking her hand and kissing the back of it before he turned her hand and kissed her palm tenderly. "But I wanted you… badly when you were pregnant before and I still do."

Leaning against her husband once he had set aside his handkerchief Beckett said softly, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Castle said. "I have to admit that there's something erotic about your body in this state. Also when you're not pregnant. So what we can deduce from that is that I'm insane about you Kate. _Addicted_."

Beckett smiled when he said that last word in Irish and she told him, "I feel the same about you, even though you're not pregnant."

"No," Castle said with a smile himself before he kissed her forehead. When she placed her hand on his cheek he leaned down, taking her lips very gently with his own as they held onto one another tightly. He tried not to get too out of control as time went on, but it was difficult as he tasted her at the same time. When they finally parted he said huskily, "We should stop."

"Or take a break?" Beckett suggested. She smiled when Castle laughed and then pressed closer to her husband and then said, "Should we sleep?"

"It's still a little early," Castle said. "Unless you really want to sleep."

"No," Beckett said with a smile, kissing his cheek tenderly. "You don't but I'm curious what exactly you have in mind." She watched him leave her then to go to his nightstand, smiling as she watched him quickly grab the book that was there as well as his glasses which he put on. When he turned back to her she smiled at him and said, " _Tá tú thar a dathúil_."

Pausing, as she'd said he was incredibly handsome, Castle recovered and then got on the bed asking, "Not ruggedly?" having to say that in English. When she just looked at him pointedly he breathed out and said, " _Adhair mé tú. An féidir liom a dhéanamh ghrá a thabhairt duit le focail_?"

Smiling at how he had said he adored her and then asked if he could make love to her with words Beckett took a moment to reply and then said, "I think you can," watching him open up his book before he held his arm out to her and she settled against his side while he began to read a poem she knew already. It didn't matter to her though, enjoying listening to him speak each and every word.

 _I bring you with reverent hands  
The books of my numberless dreams,  
White woman that passion has worn  
As the tide wears the dove-grey sands,  
And with heart more old than the horn  
That is brimmed from the pale fire of time;  
White woman of numberless dreams,  
I bring you my passionate rhyme._

"It's… well I'll stick with that one," Castle said once he'd finished the Yeats poem.

"I like it," Beckett assured him, raising her head from his shoulder. When he turned to her they shared a gentle kiss before they parted, and she murmured, "Don't stop."

Castle smiled and then turned his attention back to the book reading the next poem on the page to her.

 _The red rose whispers of passion,  
And the white rose breathes of love;  
O, the red rose is a falcon,  
And the white rose is a dove.  
But I send you a cream-white rosebud  
With a flush on its petal-tips;  
For the love that is purest and sweetest_

 _Has a kiss of desire on the lips._

Beckett hadn't heard that poem before but instead of asking her husband who had written it she instead cupped his cheek with her hand, pulling him down to her. They kissed again but much more deeply than before as she parted her lips for his tongue. While they caressed one another inside her mouth she felt the tome in her husband's free hand tumble to her lap but didn't care as they were parting for a breath so they could kiss one more time.

"Okay," Castle said once they'd stopped, panting slightly. "I-" he started to say before he tried to grab the book that had ended up on his wife's lap. Before he could though she was taking it and he said, "That was John Boyle O'Reilly."

"I was just going to ask," Beckett replied with a smile. She had opened the book and looked down at the page the poem was on seeing it was called _A White Rose_. Flipping through the book herself she paused at one and then looked at her husband saying, "I think I can do the same."

"You can," Castle said quickly. He was almost breathless at the smile she gave him and watched her as she held the book up enough so she could look at him while she began to read.

 _Is grá planda le fréamh dúbailte_ _,  
Agus de aisteach, cumhacht leaisteacha_ _;  
Bhfear n-intinn roinnte i ainmniú na torthaí_ _,  
Ach tá póg an bláth amháin_

Beckett looked at her husband when she had finished and asked with a smile, "In English?"

"I would like to hear it in that too," Castle said though he'd been able to translate it as she'd said it. "That's O'Reilly too isn't it?"

" _A Kiss_ ," Beckett said with a nod, telling him the name as well. She then turned her attention back to the book and read it in English.

 _Love is a plant with double root,  
And of strange, elastic power;  
Men's minds are divided in naming the fruit,  
But a kiss is the only flower._

"So-" Beckett started to say before her husband suddenly wrapped his arms around her and kissed her deeply. She held onto him tightly as he pulled her close and tried her best to fight with his tongue that was inside her mouth. Finally they parted, and she said slightly breathlessly, "You're going to push it."

Brushing his lips to his wife's Castle then said, "That's why I stopped. But we really should get some sleep." When she studied him he sighed and said, "I need a distraction."

Beckett nodded and then got off the bed, untying her robe before she took it off and set it on the armchair near her before she got under the sheets. She watched her husband doing the same; his robe going to the dresser near him; and once he was back with her they laid down together before she pressed close against his side. "We don't have to sleep right now."

"Okay, then I wanted to ask you about earlier," Castle told her. When she looked at him questioningly he said, "Why did Fleur go to you when she started to cry?"

"I don't know," Beckett said honestly. She glanced at her husband and said, "I'm sure you have a theory about that though."

"If you two were sisters maybe she feels like you really are her aunt," Castle said.

"I knew you were going to say that," Beckett said with a mock suffering sigh. "But Skye did ask me if we'd seen her in those dreams from the twenties."

"Yeah, never did," Castle said. "But I bet we'll see her now… how would that work though? Skye, Mary and Patrick all raising her?"

"It could work," Beckett replied. "I bet it did."

"Probably did," Castle said, kissing her forehead. He saw she was looking at him closely and he sighed saying, "I did get something."

"Then tell me," Beckett said, cuddling a little closer to him.

"Okay, so it was… after they had adopted her, and they brought her to our home in Mill Valley two days after," Castle said, all that coming to him quickly.

"When was it?" Beckett asked him.

Castle had to think that over and was about to speak when his wife did so before he could.

"October twentieth," Beckett said. "In 1939," she added. "So that explains why she wasn't there when the bridge opened."

"Yeah, so she was five when they adopted her," Castle said. "And we were waiting in the front of the house for them to get out of their car. Oh, and Julia was seventeen at this point, Eliza twelve, Alexis nearly eleven and our youngest nine." He then began to tell her the memory he had going from the point where he'd told her they were waiting in the front for the passengers to disembark from their car.

* * *

 _"Is that them?" Julia asked her parents, looking over at them from where she was holding her littlest sister's hand._

 _"That's them," Kate said, smiling at her daughter. She then walked with her husband down the path to the gate and her smile became wider when she saw the bright red hair of the little girl stepping out of the car._

 _"Hello all," Rose said to her family who came out to the sidewalk. "We'd like you to meet Fiona. Our baby girl."_

 _"She's a bit shy," Patrick said, a beaming smile on his face as the little girl turned to Rose who picked her up. "But she's a sweetheart."_

 _"She looks like it," Kate said, with her sister by then and smiling at Fiona._

 _"Fiona, this is your Auntie Kate," Rose said with a smile. "Want to give her a smile and hello?"_

 _The little girl turned her head then and faintly smiled at Kate saying softly, "Hullo Auntie Kate."_

 _"Hello Fiona, I'm so happy to meet you," Kate said, taking her hand and gently squeezing it. "Full Irish?" she asked her sister._

 _"Oh aye," Rose replied with a nod. "Just grew up a bit in London," she said._

 _"Would you like to meet your cousins?" Mariella asked the little girl then._

 _"She should meet her Uncle Rick first," Rose suggested._

 _"Uncle?" Fiona asked._

 _"That's me," Rick said as he stepped forward. "Lovely to meet you Fiona," he said as he mimicked tipping a hat to her._

 _Giggling softly Fiona waved to him before she then turned to Rose saying, "Cousins?"_

 _"Right here," Patrick then said. "You've got four of them."_

 _"I'm Julia," the young woman said quickly as her uncle looked at her pointedly. She smiled at her new cousin and waved a little to her as her mother walked inside and then stepped aside so her sisters could be seen._

 _"I'm Elizabeth," the girl said with a smile as well._

 _"I'm Alexandra," the little girl then said, smiling and waving happily to the little girl._

* * *

"You can't go any further than that can you?" Beckett asked her husband.

"No," Castle replied. "I think it's because our youngest played with her mainly since they were closest in age to each other." He thought for a moment and then said, "But I think eventually she warmed up to us."

"Not a surprise," Beckett replied. She then saw her husband looked thoughtful and she gave him a pointed look when he eventually looked down at her to prod him into telling her what was on his mind when he finally did so.

"I was trying to decide if I should tell you," Castle finally said.

"Tell me what?" Beckett asked simply.

"What happened that night," Castle said slowly.

"We made love I'm assuming," Beckett told him.

"We did but that wasn't it," Castle replied quickly.

"Tell me," Beckett said quickly. "I want to know."

With a slight smile Castle then told her what he had recalled once they'd been in their room and their children were all asleep.

* * *

 _"I've been thinking Kate," Rick told his wife as he held her to him when they had parted after making love._

 _"About what?" she asked him with a smile, nuzzling his jaw with her lips for a moment._

 _"About seeing if I could go back to the police," Rick said slowly._

 _"Here?" Kate asked._

 _"Yeah," Rick said, startled at her calm demeanor._

 _"You can try," Kate told him, turning onto her stomach so she could look down at him. "But I really don't think that you'll have a chance to join." When her husband wouldn't look at her she gently turned his head so he was and told him, "Your knee my love."_

 _"I had thought of that," Rick said, shaking his head repeatedly. "But I just thought if I…" He wasn't surprised when his wife cut him off with a kiss and he reciprocated it before they were holding onto one another tightly. At some point; after they'd been kissing more than once; he turned her around onto her back and after a brief pause to make sure they were protected he proceeded to make love with her again._

* * *

"I'm not going to tell you one day I want to go back," Beckett said, reaching down to her abdomen and covering the side with her hand as the baby was kicking.

"No I realize that," Castle said quickly. "That was just what happened then. And I never did go back, I stayed home to write with you and to raise our daughters together."

"Good," Beckett said with a smile. "Though you never-" she started to say with a slightly troubled expression on her face.

"No, never regretted it," Castle said. "You know after Prohibition was appealed we were together whenever we could be in the city. Dancing, I took you out and we never really stopped making love for a long time."

"I'm glad to hear that," Beckett said with a smile. She shared a kiss with him then and told him, "I need to call Skye."

"And what, tell her that we made love?" Castle asked in surprise.

"No," Beckett replied, still smiling at his tone. "That we saw Fiona… I mean Fleur," she said, shaking her head at saying the wrong name. "Why are we seeing these different names and yet some are staying the same?"

"I don't know," Castle said, sitting up with her then. "So right now?"

"Yes… oh," Beckett said before she realized what he was talking about. "Well… I could text her."

"If they're getting really into it she might not hear," Castle said before making a face.

"Why does that bother you?" Beckett asked, studying him.

"She's like my sister," Castle said. "She was my sister… in-law. Your sister."

Beckett paused and then said, "Rick… I…"

Wrapping his arms around her as he could see the tears in her eyes Castle said, "It's not something to be-"

"No, I'm alright," Beckett said, able to recover enough then. "And I wasn't crying out of sadness or anything." She paused and then breathed out heavily saying, "If that was a past… life-"

"Then Patrick was your brother in law too," Castle said.

"Yeah," Beckett replied with a smile. She shook her head and then reached for her phone, quickly texting Skye and hoping she wouldn't be interrupting her as she and her husband waited for a response.

When his wife's phone began to ring Castle said, "I guess they're awake still."

Glancing at him, as she'd expected that comment to be something else, Beckett quickly answered the phone and put it on speaker saying, "Skye?"

"Yeah, we didn't leave anything there did we?" the investigator asked.

"No, I'm sorry I'm calling this late," Beckett said. "But you said to tell you if we ever saw Fleur-"

"Oh, you did," Skye said. "Fab, I'm guessing you just did?"

"Actually, Rick did," Beckett said, smiling at her husband. "And we should tell you now about it. Or he should."

Castle quickly began to do so, not taking too long as he could still only recall up to the point where they were about to introduce their youngest. "That's all but she was there. I think because the baby isn't with us yet I won't be able to really see more. Or Kate either for that matter. Oh and I couldn't see much of Fleur besides her hair; I have no idea what she looked like at five."

"Still nice to hear," Mary commented as her wife had her phone on speaker as well.

"It is, you should tell Patrick about that," Skye replied. "I'm sure he'd want to hear."

"I'll try and get in touch with him now," Beckett said, looking at the time on her phone.

"They might be asleep," Skye told her. "But I'm sure you could text him…"

"I'll talk to him tomorrow," Beckett said. "Safe flight tomorrow."

"Thank you, see you hopefully soon," Skye said.

After they'd said goodbye to the two women Castle said to his wife, "You don't think Patrick would want to talk to you today do you?"

"I think it's too late now," Becket replied. "Tomorrow he will so I'll look out for him." She then said, "Now that we're finished with work for the time being should we finish up that book."

Castle smiled and then said, "Probably. And if we do that and we're still waiting for the baby why don't we finish up Julia's?"

"We'll need to ask her," Beckett pointed out to him. "She doesn't seem to want to write now though."

"I thought about that too," Castle said, shaking his head. "Anything wrong with her?"

"I don't know," Beckett replied. "But I'll talk to her; see what she'll say about that." She then smiled at him and when he looked at her in confusion she merely raised her eyebrow at him before a look of realization crossed his face.

"Oh so… there's not much more I can recall from that night," Castle said hurriedly. "There isn't too much else to remember except what we started out doing."

Smiling at him Beckett gently kissed his cheek before she set her phone aside and laughed as there was a sharp kick on her stomach. "She's still awake," she told her husband before she turned to him as she knew already he was going to ask.

"Here," Castle said quickly, helping her lay down. As soon as she was set he went to her abdomen and gently kissed the curve of it before he moved his hand to lay it there.

"She's over here," Beckett said with a smile, moving his hand around.

"You're right," Castle said with a smile. "But you have to get some sleep too little one. And if you're moving around because you want to go home don't worry we will tomorrow in the morning."

"You're homesick?" Beckett asked him, pausing a little here and there as her husband was pressing his lips all around her abdomen.

"Not really," Castle said as he finally pulled himself away and moved up to lay next to her. While he was pulling the covers over them both he said, "I think Julia was at one point."

"I noticed," Beckett replied, watching him turning off the lights. "Rick?" she asked him.

"Yeah?" Castle said, looking at her and just making out her face in the slight darkness of their room.

"I love you," Beckett told him.

"I love you too," Castle replied. He then thought of something and said, "Next week we'll need to check on everything in the baby's room."

"I already thought of that," Beckett said with a smile. "We will, after we write."

"And you get some walking in," Castle said. He laughed when his wife nudged him in the side and said, "Whenever you say."

"Thank you," Beckett replied, feeling him gently rubbing her stomach. She reached under the covers and stopped his hand, placing hers over it to do so, before she said, "I'm eager to get home too."

"Me too," Castle replied. "But I'm eager for-"

"Our trip," Beckett said at the same time. She kissed his jaw a few times before saying, "Me too but we've got something before that now that we've gone to the ball."

"Ah yes, her birthday," Castle said. "Is it weird I'm excited?" he asked his wife.

"No," Beckett replied laughingly. She then said, "I am too but hopefully she won't mind Eliza joining her in on it."

"I don't think so," Castle replied. "But before that point we better spend more time with them both."

"I agree," Beckett said. "But once we get home." She smiled when she could see her husband nodding and they exchanged a kiss before she said, "Goodnight Rick."

"Night love," Castle said, watching her as she pressed closer against his side. He felt when she fell asleep as she relaxed, and he smiled for a moment. He stayed awake for a little longer, studying her, before he decided he wanted the chance to dream about her as he could already tell she was doing about him. He closed his eyes, wondering what he would see and eager to find out as he had a great deal of time to spend with her that night.


	30. Here, With Our Love

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: Really pleased seeing the feedback I got for the last chapter so will get to my thank yous for that! MsNYC (I was glad that you thought Julia telling Darnley about them was too cute, wasn't expecting that reaction so that was nice. And of course I know how you feel about flashbacks so not surprised you enjoyed that one, lol. Great you were happy that Darnley and Nkosi got to see the loft properly as you said. You made a good point about that thought, that if they get more stories about it they can get the picture with that! Glad to read that you like how Castle saw Fleur in his memory from their past life too. And I wasn't surprised you were glad that Skye has Beckett to talk about the adoption thing, that definitely helps. I'm not surprised you're going to miss everyone from the city and Skye and Mary too, but also glad about that! Happy to read you thought it was great writing as usual, and the same for the flashbacks too!),

TORONTOSUN (It was nice reading that you thought the first half of the chapter was good writing all around. And I was so happy to see you like that Castle and Beckett really love each other since I do like writing them that way!),

Mb (Happy to read you thought it was a fantastic update with the first half of the chapter. Nice to see you loved their time at the museum, along with how excited Eliza was with the dinosaur exhibit and the bit with the horse skeletons. Lol, I'm glad you loved Darnley and Nkosi's reason for being late, didn't think anyone would comment on that so it was nice to see you did. So happy you loved the flashback with them playing in the rain on the roof and then watching _Singing in the Rain_! You're very welcome for that first half! It was nice reading that you thought the second half was a sweet update. I'm glad you love how I'm showing them being them. Glad you're enjoying and loving them having quality and loving times with their closest friends and family too. It was nice to see your reaction to their Orlando trip. But you're right, it's great to be able to go to every park at Walt Disney World and stay at one of the hotels too, to be able to have the means and time to do it. And I don't blame you for being jealous, I am too, lol, which is why I wrote it, since I can do that at least. Great you loved the flashback into their past life with Fleur joining them as well as hoping they'd be there in the past as well as the present. And not surprised you mentioned the pregnancy hormones for Beckett. But I am glad that you understand why Beckett wishes Darnley could be closer. So happy that you thought the second half was beautifully written. You're very welcome for sharing!) and

vetgirlmx (I wasn't too surprised that you loved all the friends and family were together and of course I was very happy that you think it's too much fun because it is writing that, lol. I wondered what you'd think about the flashback of them meeting Fleur, lol, of course so was nice that you loved that too. And of course, pleased to see that you thought that though it was simple they still made her feel welcome 'cause I was trying to go for that. Since after everything Fleur went through she needed something simple but knowing she's got possible friends too. And I have to agree with you that the it was different with them being at the loft since, as you said, they didn't have to leave early since nobody needed to drive back. And not surprised that you were about Darnley asking Julia for a story. And yeah, lol, I did have to say that she was pretty young, but I thought those memories would stick out more. But great you thought it was really nice to see her version of things. And yeah, he enjoyed the story too since he gets to hear about how Beckett was then. I'm so, so happy that you think their plans for their summer trip is going to be very interesting and fun and that you're waiting for it too! Nice seeing you enjoyed the last chapter greatly. And of course, glad you can't wait to see what happens next to read more and now you don't need to wait for that!).

Thanks so much for the reviews, loved reading them and I appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Don't Let Me Wait Too Long_ by George Harrison, from his album _Living in the Material World_.

Here, With Our Love

"Julia," Beckett said, gently shaking her daughter's shoulder.

Opening her eyes Julia looked up at her mother and groaned before she said, "Is it time for school?"

"It's Sunday sweetie," Beckett said with a smile.

"Oh… okay," Julia sighed before she sat up. She rubbed her eyes a little and then smiled at her mother saying, "Morning Mommy."

"Good morning," Beckett replied. "Are you alright getting ready?" she asked her daughter.

"Yep… are you gonna help Lizzy?" Julia asked her.

"Your grandpapa is," Beckett said simply. "But if you don't mind I'll stay here."

"I don't," Julia said with a smile as she climbed off the bed while her mother sat down on the edge of it. "Do you miss Daddy?" she asked as she went to where her clothes for the day were laid out.

"A little," Beckett admitted, placing her hand on her stomach. When her daughter gave her a look she smiled and said, "Alright, a lot. But he'll be home soon."

"Did he say when he's coming back?" Julia asked interestedly.

Shaking her head Beckett said, "I get the feeling he's going to try and surprise us."

"That's okay," Julia said. "As long as he comes home."

"I agree," Beckett said with a smile as she wasn't surprised her oldest missed him too. It was the first of March and Castle had been gone since the day before to handle some things with the second of the Nikki Heat graphic novels. She knew he'd finished things up as he'd told her when they had spoken to him the day before, but he hadn't mentioned when he was coming home. She was hoping it was soon as she'd missed him, especially the night before. She shook herself then as she saw her daughter had finished getting dressed and was going to grab her brush to bring back to her.

"Can you make a braid?" Julia asked her mother when she'd gone back to her.

"I-" Beckett started to say when her daughter embraced her. "Come on, the sooner we have breakfast with your grandpapa and sister then he'll be back," she said with a smile.

"Oh… oh I thought you were crying," Julia said as she hurriedly pulled away to look at her. She smiled a little and said, "Sorry."

"No, it's alright," Beckett said quickly before there was a knock on the door. "Come in Dad," she called out to him.

"Good morning," Jim said as he followed his youngest granddaughter into the room. "How are you Julia?"

"Good," the girl said, hugging her sister back as Eliza had rushed to her.

"Did Daddy say he's coming home now?" the little girl asked her sister.

"Mommy said no," Julia replied. "She thinks Daddy's gonna surprise her."

"And us," Eliza said, going to her mother and hugging her tightly. "Hi Mommy," she said with a smile.

"Hello sweetie," Beckett said, kissing the side of her head. "I should get started on breakfast-" she started to say as she stood up.

"Why don't we head out?" Jim interrupted her.

"Dad," Beckett said simply.

With a slight smile Jim told his daughter, "I'm not being overprotective, I just think it would be different."

Breathing out; as she'd thought her father was taking Castle's words of watching out for her to heart; Beckett then asked, "Did you hear from Rick at all?"

"No," Jim said, shaking his head. "Why would he contact me if he was trying to surprise you? You know when I'm lying or not."

Breathing out heavily again Beckett said, "True, alright let's head to the café."

"A French breakfast?" Julia asked interestedly.

"Unless anyone wants something else?" Beckett said, looking at the girls.

"That's good," Julia said quickly, her little sister nodding next to her.

"Alright," Beckett said with a last glance at her father before she gathered the two to take their hands and lead them out into the hall. When he didn't say anything while they got their jackets, fed the dogs their breakfast and then got into the car she guessed he wasn't really in touch with her husband as she never saw him reach for his phone. She drove them to the café; though he'd tried to get her to allow him to; and after they were out of the car told him, "I'm sure once Rick gets back that's the last I'll drive."

Glancing at the girls who were watching them Jim said, "I don't think she's serious."

"I'm not… partially," Beckett said as she stepped onto the sidewalk and took her daughters' hands. She wasn't surprised when they both looked at her in confusion and explained, "It means if he can he'll drive, he's not going to go out of his way to keep me from doing so if I'm on my own. But as this month goes on…"

"Did he do that before?" Eliza asked as they stepped inside the restaurant.

"Why are you asking her?" Beckett asked, trying not to let her amusement seep into her tone as her youngest was asking Julia that.

"I remember a little bit," the girl said while she was trying to recall. "Was it now?"

"Close," Beckett said before she followed her father with them over to the table they were taken to outside. Sitting down with the girls on either side of her she helped them pick out what they wanted from the menu before she looked down the sidewalk as they started to color in their kids' menu. After a moment something caught her eye and she smiled before she stood up, startling her daughters who watched her walk around their table.

"Please tell me I surprised you," Castle told his wife as he neared her after jogging a bit once he saw her stepping out to the sidewalk.

"You did," Beckett said, wrapping her arms around him as tightly as she could. "If I could have I would have run."

"Thanks for not doing that," Castle said as he held her close. When they pulled away to look at each other he smiled and then said, "Really glad to be back."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said before she leaned into him and they kissed gently. "Welcome back. _Chaill mé tú_ ," she told him, murmuring the last bit into his ear.

Smiling again, as she'd told him she'd missed him, Castle replied, " _Mise freisin_ ," letting her know he had too. He told himself he needed to let go of her but couldn't do it, drawing her to him for a kiss again, holding her tightly once more as they made it deep at the same time.

After pulling away when she needed to breathe Beckett said, "Now I can tell."

"So can I," Castle replied before he let go of her as they heard squealing behind them. "Hey Eliza," he said, picking up the little girl as soon as she'd reached him. He tossed her up in the air slightly and said, "How are you?"

"Good, are you happy you came here," Eliza said before looking down at her sister who had reached them and was hugging their father.

"Very," Castle said, doing his best to hug Julia with one arm. He eventually set Eliza down and embraced the girl warmly saying, "I missed both of you. How was it?"

"Quiet, don't go again," Julia said firmly, looking up at him.

"Don't worry, everyone in the city knows not to call me until well after your little sister is born," Castle assured them. "Let's get breakfast because I'm starving."

"Me too," the girls said at the same time.

Castle smiled at his wife before he took their daughters' hands and went back to their table where Jim stood at their approach. "She was alright?" he asked his father in law quickly.

"I was," Beckett said, looking pointedly at her husband as she went past him to sit in her chair.

"Just checking," Castle said quickly.

"Look at what you want," Beckett said simply before he sat next to her. She then watched the girls, Eliza staying with him instead of sitting on the other side of her, talking to him about what they'd done and she smiled, not surprised they were repeating what they'd told him the night before when they'd talked to him on the TV. She also couldn't help but remember; as they began to order; the night before and her conversation alone with her husband as it had been the first one they'd had since he'd been on his tour for the first graphic novel.

* * *

 _"Hey love," Castle said with a slight smile when he saw his wife._

 _"Hello again," Beckett replied, smiling herself. "How're you doing?"_

 _"Alright, Mother went out so I'm alone here in the loft," Castle said._

 _"Are you in your room?" Beckett asked him._

 _"I am… there wasn't much reason to stay out of it," Castle began. "Unless I wanted to try and get reacquainted with my stash of porn."_

 _"Which you partially moved here and then got rid of the rest," Beckett reminded him._

 _"I thought you would have forgotten," Castle said. "So how was the rest of their evening?"_

 _"Not bad, my dad helped them out playing a little with the dogs before we sat down and played UNO," Beckett replied._

 _"Just that?" Castle asked, startled when she didn't continue._

 _"It was all they wanted to play," Beckett said with a shrug. She smiled and then said, "And then I took a shower before I called you. What about you?"_

 _"Dinner down the street at the Vietnamese place, drink at the pub right across the street, back here, shower and I miss you Kate," Castle told her seriously._

 _"I miss you too," Beckett assured him with a smile. "But it's only tonight and then you can come home."_

 _"I should have come back today," Castle told her pointedly._

 _"You were tired after going through everything with Jay and Tanaka," Beckett said simply. "And while I would have loved you to do that too I don't want you driving that far while that tired."_

 _Castle opened his mouth to speak before he groaned and then said, "You're right but I got used to being with you again… majorly."_

 _"Majorly?" Beckett asked, biting the side of her mouth after that to try not to laugh._

 _"Sorry, I was watching_ Will and Grace _to take my mind off things," Castle began. "It was that episode with Alec Baldwin; the live one."_

 _"I remember him using that word," Beckett said. "And I did too you know."_

 _"This isn't going to happen again," Castle told her._

 _"It might need to," Beckett gently told him. "Especially if it's while I'm still nursing the baby Rick."_

 _With another groan Castle said, "Let's the change the subject, I'm starting to get depressed."_

 _"Okay," Beckett said with a brief smile._

 _"Oh, now that I remembered I told Jay we were done with the book," Castle said._

 _"I think I can imagine his reaction," Beckett said. "Please don't tell me he said about time."_

 _"No," Castle said, shaking his head quickly. "He was just glad it was done."_

 _"The baby?" Beckett guessed. When her husband nodded that time she sighed and said, "At least he never said we wouldn't be able to finish it while we were still working on it. And I read that paragraph I wrote today if we're talking about the book."_

 _"In chapter two?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he then said, "And that's it?"_

 _"We wrote together after that," Beckett reminded him._

 _"Right," Castle said in remembrance. "He asked me about the next book," he continued. "And I said we were considering the secret marriage but really-"_

 _"It's too soon," Beckett finished with him. "I concur but we're also agreed on the case, right?"_

 _"Are you sure about that though? It's a little weak to have them in Vegas," Castle replied._

 _"And we talked about that," Beckett said simply, gently running her hand over her abdomen as their baby began to move. "If they're celebrating their engagement then…"_

 _"They could be in Vegas," Castle said. "I guess I'm just a little surprised you'd want them to celebrate there."_

 _"And I'll remind you that we're going to write them in a very nice suite at the Mirage," Beckett said. "No," she then hurried to say as her husband opened his mouth to speak. "No Villa it's way too big for two people."  
"They could make love in every room each time," Castle suggested._

 _With a heavy sigh Beckett shook her head and then told him, "If we ever go back to Vegas; just the two of us; then I'll know what your plans are already. No, Moor and Green will stay in their suite and the body will drop on the street from the Flamingo while they're at Serendipity."_

 _"Fine, although it would have been interesting to write them using those three beds," Castle said. "And there I guess you'd sock my shoulder."_

 _"Hard," Beckett told him with a smile before she began to yawn._

 _"How's the baby?" Castle asked quickly as he realized he'd forgotten to ask her that at the start._

 _"She's fine, we're both fine," Beckett replied, still smiling slightly as her husband had asked her that earlier when the girls and her father had been with them. "She's moving around right now actually."_

 _"I wish I could be there in case-" Castle began to say. When his wife looked down then he stopped but quickly finished telling her, "In case she kicks."_

 _"She'll kick tomorrow," Beckett replied. "Speaking of that when are you coming back?"_

 _"Whenever I can," Castle said simply. When his wife gave him a look he shrugged nonchalantly and told her, "Honestly I have no idea when exactly I will yet. But don't worry I'll come back as soon as I can."_

 _"Alright," Beckett said with a sigh as she could tell from his tone that he wasn't going to say. "Did you manage to see anyone there?"_

 _"Just Jay and the artist," Castle replied. "So I had fun. And I'm very jealous of you."_

 _"With my ankles swollen and me getting to the stage where I'm about to start waddling?" Beckett said wryly. "When we went to playground earlier I had to sit and watch."_

 _"Not that part," Castle said. He frowned slightly and then said, "Kate-"_

 _"I don't regret this," Beckett interrupted him. "It's just frustration. I haven't forgotten that this is temporary and not for much longer."_

 _"No," Castle said with a nod. "Two months starting tomorrow."_

 _"I thought that too," Beckett said with a smile._

 _"You're still in awe of that?" Castle said as he could tell that she was running her hand over her abdomen._

 _"I am, this long since I was carrying Eliza I forgot," Beckett told him._

 _"I guess it's easy to," Castle said. "Mind you I have no idea what I'm talking about right now."_

 _Laughing softly Beckett said, "Are you going straight to bed after this?"_

 _"No," Castle said. "I have a book so… might as well get it read."_

 _"Poetry?" Beckett asked. When her husband looked startled she said, "Just a guess. O'Reilly?"_

 _"It is… I find myself really fascinated by his words," Castle replied._

 _"All of them or just the romantic poems he wrote?" Beckett asked._

 _"The romantic ones," Castle said._

 _"What's wrong?" Beckett said, hearing the hesitation in his voice._

 _"No, I was looking up O'Reilly and I saw that he was a Fenian," Castle finally said after hesitating for a moment. "He was sent to Australia for it."_

 _"It reminded you of your father," Beckett said gently._

 _"It did," Castle said with a groan. "I tried not to let it but… the IRB was… it…"_

 _"It's too close to the IRA, I know Rick," Beckett said. "But your father… oh."_

 _"Yeah," Castle replied. "I was thinking about the baby and how he's not going to be able to see her like he did Eliza."_

 _"Do you know what he said to her?" Beckett asked._

 _"I don't," Castle replied, relieved she was bringing up the blessing his father had said he'd told Eliza when she was born._

 _"We can try to find it," Beckett told him. "But that would mean we would need to go through his papers." When he bent his head and ran his fingers through his hair she said, "I can do that for you."_

 _"Would you?" Castle asked. When his wife nodded he breathed out and said, "I'm sorry but-"_

 _"I understand," Beckett gently interrupted him. "Will you be there with me?"_

 _"I will," Castle said, not surprised when she yawned. "Maybe it's a good thing I didn't come back tonight."_

 _"I think I would have been able to gather enough energy for that," Beckett said, a slight smile on her face._

 _"Great to know but really, you should get rest after… last night," Castle said._

 _Shaking her head and smiling at the memory of Friday night when they'd been a little out of control with their passion at the thought of being separated the next day Beckett said simply, "Then we have tomorrow."_

 _"Ah, I knew you were going to say that," Castle replied, breathing out roughly. "Well at least it's incentive for me to get to you faster."_

 _"Thank you," Beckett told him, settling back a little more on the pillows that were behind her._

 _"For what?" Castle asked in surprise._

 _"Confirming what I already knew," Beckett said simply. "About why the Ferrari went with you."_

 _"Usually I'm better at that," Castle replied. He then smiled and said, "But yeah, that's why."_

 _"Thank you for doing that too," Beckett said._

 _"You're welcome," Castle quickly told her. "But tomorrow what were you planning on doing?"_

 _"I don't know," Beckett said honestly. "I didn't really want to think about that until you got back. I'm sure the girls won't want to either."_

 _"The weather's supposed to be nice tomorrow isn't it?" Castle asked her. When his wife nodded he said, "One thing we could do is let them play outside."_

 _"I was thinking of doing that," Beckett replied with a smile. "We let them choose?"_

 _"We do," Castle said with a nod. When his wife yawned again he told her, "I should let you go."  
"I think so," Beckett said with a sigh. "I love you Rick."_

 _"I love you too Kate," Castle told her. "I'll see you tomorrow."_

 _"I can't wait," Beckett said with a smile. She said goodnight to him after he'd done the same to her and then turned off her tablet, setting it aside on her nightstand before she turned off the lights, getting comfortable under the covers as much as she could and trying to sleep the best she could even though her husband wasn't by her side._

* * *

"Take it easy you guys," Castle said with a heavy laugh as he was scratching the dog's heads as he greeted them once they were home. "I'm glad to see you too." Finally he'd pet all six of them and said to his wife, "Can I unpack?"

"He won't take that long," Beckett said as the girls looked like they were about to protest.

"I'll meet you…" Castle began to say.

"We'll be in the family room waiting," Beckett replied. She watched her husband go up the foyer steps before she turned to her daughters and father. "What?" she asked, seeing they were all watching her.

"You can go with him Mommy," Julia replied.

"Yeah you should," Eliza said firmly.

Beckett tried not to laugh and then said, "Are you sure?"

"Mommy!" the girls said together.

"I'll take care of them Katie," Jim assured his daughter.

"Alright, we'll be back," Beckett said squeezing the girls' shoulders before she walked up the stairs carefully. When she reached hers and her husband's room she wasn't surprised to see him standing in the doorway and she asked in amusement, "You knew?"

"I guessed," Castle replied, reaching for her and pulling her against him. They began to kiss, and he spanned the small of her back with his hands to hold her close as their tongues fought back and forth between their mouths. They kept that up for as long as possible before they stopped, and he told her breathlessly, "Did I mention I missed you?"

"You may have," Beckett said with a smile before she nuzzled his lips with her own. "And I want you tonight… badly."

"I think you do right now," Castle said as she was leaning fully against him.

"Sort of," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised that her husband looked at her questioningly and she explained, "The girls; remember what we said? And," she added when he let her go so they could go into their room. "We'll have a lot of time together as soon as I can be with you again after the baby's born." She was startled when he pulled her to him again but that time he instead placed his hand on her abdomen. "I think she's asleep," she said with a smile.

"I don't mind," Castle said quickly. "I'm really glad to be back. Even just after one night."

"It was long enough," Beckett replied. She smiled when he then kissed her, but they were quick before she followed him over to the bed to sit next to his suitcase at his direction before he started to take out what he had inside it.

"You know today is the first," Castle said after he'd gotten everything out of the suitcase.

"I'm aware," Beckett said with a wry smile. "And your camera is with our books."

"Thank you," Castle said, coming back from throwing his clothes into the hamper in their bathroom. "But I wonder if we should use the book," he told her. "One of them I should say."

"Or both," Beckett said as she stood up while he was taking the suitcase into their closet next. "Look Rick I know now that I'm seven months you're going to worry but…" she trailed off and after thinking for a moment said, "I would like one more time with you on top. At least."

"I get the feeling it's going to be more than one," Castle said as he came back to her. He kissed her quickly and then said, "But I can oblige of course."

"Thank you," Beckett said with a smile. "Are you up to playing with them?"

"Of course," Castle said. "Are you up to watching?"

"I can do… some things," Beckett said in annoyance before she smiled.

Castle couldn't help it and he leaned over, kissing her briefly again before they took each other's hands and left their room to head down to where their daughters and her father were. "Are you guys ready to go outside?" he asked when the girls looked over at them.

"Yeah, what can we do?" Eliza asked, hurrying over to them.

"Whatever you want," Castle said. He glanced at his wife and then added, "As long as your mom and I say it's okay."

"Thank you," Beckett said, shaking her head.

"I know two things already we can do," Julia said, having joined them with Jim just behind her. "Our bows and arrows and then our kites."

"I almost thought she was going to say swimming and more swimming," Castle told his wife.

"Not yet," Beckett said, shaking her head again and smiling as she had before. "Thank you for not suggesting it."

"I knew already," Julia said, smiling at her father. "So I didn't say that."

"She's smart," Castle commented as they started to walk over to the door leading out to the back.

"Of course," Beckett replied. "Rick," she said when her husband led her to the steps. "We have to get everything set up."

"Which I can do with their help," Castle said quickly. "Just humor me."

Beckett sighed and then nodded, letting him take her over to the chairs though she was walking to them as well. After she sat she wasn't surprised when the girls stayed with her but was when she saw Julia's slightly troubled look. She was about to ask her what was wrong when Eliza spoke for her sister suddenly.

"Jules has something to ask Mommy," the little girl said.

"Lizzy!" Julia hissed, feeling her cheeks growing red.

"What is it sweetie?" Beckett asked her oldest.

"Um…" Julia said slowly. She saw the way her mother was smiling at her encouragingly and she took a deep breath and said, "Can I call you Mom and Dad now?" nodding over to Castle who was walking back to them. "I still love you," she then rushed to say before either of her parents could say a word. "It's just…"

"Just what?" Castle asked her as he and Jim stood by them.

"I feel like a baby when I say mommy and daddy," Julia confessed. "And I'm almost eleven so… what do you think?"

With a smile Beckett said, "I was around this age when I called my parents that so I'm fine with it."

"Me too, Alexis was a little bit more past eleven when she started to call me Dad," Castle said. "Go ahead."

"Thanks," Julia said in relief. "Can we play now?"

"Yeah, everything is all set up for you two," Castle told them. He went over to his wife as Jim took the girls over to the archery target that was set up. "You don't mind?" he asked her once she was standing.

"Why would I? Like I told you I called my parents that eventually," Beckett said with a shrug. She tugged his arm so they could walk after the others and told him, "And I knew this was going to happen anyways."

"Hey Mom," Julia said then. She smiled at her mother when Beckett did so to her and said, "That sounds weird."

"We'll get used to it," she assured her daughter. "What is it sweetie?"

"Well… could I try out your set after this one?" Julia asked.

"Sure," Beckett said with a nod. "But first you and sister need to play with your set."

Nodding Julia turned to Eliza who was already holding her bow and an arrow with their grandfather's help. "Good luck," she told her little sister.

"Thanks," Eliza replied though she was looking at the target. She aimed for the bullseye and let go of the arrow, smiling when she got halfway there. "I got better," she told her mother.

"You're almost five," Beckett said, a little startled to realize that was true. "Keep going though and let's see how good you do."

Nodding Eliza shot the rest of her arrows and was pleased when half of her set managed to get to the target. "I'm a big girl now," she said proudly.

"You are," Castle said laughingly as she came to him first and hugged him. He hugged her back, watching Julia get ready before Eliza went to Beckett.

"I'm getting too big for this," Julia said jokingly.

"You are but for the time being you can borrow my bow when our target is up," Beckett said since her daughter had said that to her.

Julia nodded and then began to shoot her arrows, trying not to get frustrated as the bow felt smaller in her hands. She did well and then moved out of the way for her sister to go next, going to her parents who allowed Jim to help her get ready for her turn.

"Let your sister have a couple more turns and then we'll move on to our sets," Beckett told her daughter, gently stroking her hair.

"Okay," Julia replied with a nod. She then smiled and said, "Are you gonna have a competition with Dad?"

Feeling a little weird at first hearing that Castle took a moment to reply before he said, "I don't know if we should do that."

"You never know how it might go," Beckett told her husband.

"I think I do," Castle commented. "I'm slightly ahead of you with that."

"And I might beat you," Beckett told him simply.

Trying not to smile Castle asked, " _Ag iarraidh a geall_?"

Giving him a look, as he'd asked if she wanted to bet, Beckett turned her attention to their youngest and she called, "Great job sweetie."

"Thanks," Eliza said before she stepped over to them.

Shaking her head Julia told her little sister, "Go and play again, I'm gonna wait to use Mommy's- I mean Mom's bow."

"She will," Beckett told Eliza as she looked at her questioningly. She was slightly surprised when Julia went after her sister and then turned to her husband saying, " _Cad a bheidh mé a fhaíl_?" asking what she would get.

" _Cibé a mhaith leat_ ," Castle replied easily, telling her whatever she wanted.

" _Táim ag súil go mór é_ ," Beckett said.

Castle tried not to react to her statement that she was looking forward to it as the others were coming over to them and he quickly said, "Great job again sweetheart, you're learning fast."

"Thanks," Eliza said happily. "But Jules wants to go now."

"I'll be right back," Castle commented before he went over to the target to switch it for his and Beckett's. That was quickly done and when he went back to the others he saw his father in law had brought their bows and arrows.

"I let him," Beckett said simply to her husband's questioning glance.

"Who goes first?" Eliza asked then.

"You can," Julia said to her parents.

"Actually, I think it'll be better if you do that first," Beckett replied. "Since you haven't used it in a while we should let you try again."

"Okay," Julia said though she wasn't sure she should go first. But her mother was handing her her bow and she took it, walking over to stand in front of the target before her mother handed her an arrow.

"Do you need any help?" Castle asked as they watched the girl notching the arrow on the string.

"I'm okay Dad," Julia said, smiling at him. She turned back to the target and raised the bow as she remembered to do, aiming before she drew back the string. Taking in a slight breath she let it go and watched the arrow hit the outer black ring and then smiled at the others. "I didn't think I was gonna make it," she told them.

"You remember," Castle said, handing her another arrow. "Keep going."

"Yeah, I want to see who wins," Julia replied.

"Who wins what?" Eliza asked in confusion.

"Mom and Dad are gonna compete," Julia said. "Are we keeping score?"

"Do you want to for yours?" Beckett asked.

"Sure," Julia said. "I know it's not gonna be a big number but that's okay," she told them as she raised the bow with the arrow. "I'll get better."

Sharing a look with her husband Beckett said in amusement, "She's taking after you."

Shrugging Castle said, "It's fun to do."

"As long as you don't mind if you lose," Beckett said.

"I won't," Julia said hurriedly as she got her next arrow. "It's just for fun and-"

"I was talking to your dad," Beckett said, turning her gaze over to her husband.

"I won't," Castle told her firmly. "Keep going Julia," he then said to their oldest.

With a smile the girl did so, being very careful with the rest of her mother's arrows until she was finished and she then looked at her parents once the last arrow was in the target.

"You got twenty-four," Castle said, knowing what she was looking at them for.

"Which isn't too bad," Beckett said.

Julia beamed at them and then said, "I'll get better."

"That sounds like a challenge," Jim said, putting his hand on his daughter's shoulder.

"For me," Julia explained.

Jim laughed with his daughter and son in law while the girls looked at each other and giggled before he said, "I guess it's time for your challenge."

"Should we do groups of three?" Castle asked his wife. "Olympics?"

"I guess but we have ten arrows," Beckett reminded him.

"Then add a fourth on the third set," Castle said with a shrug. "I'll let you go first…"

"We'll have to clear the three each time," Beckett said quickly as she knew what her husband was thinking of. "Which isn't a problem."

"For me," Castle added. He wasn't surprised when his wife looked at him with a frown and then smiled saying, "I'm not kidding."

Sighing Beckett took one of her arrows out of the box Julia was holding for her and said, "I'm going to be too spoiled."

"Not for very long I think," Castle said.

"After the baby is born?" Beckett asked, pausing and looking at her husband with an arched eyebrow.

"Ah… then too," Castle said. "But you'll appreciate it."

Beckett tried to say something against that, but she couldn't really think of what would be believable, so she sighed and then said, "I did before."

"Grandpapa?" Eliza asked Jim then. "How long are you gonna stay?"

"Now or when the baby is born?" he asked his granddaughter, looking at Beckett.

"When the baby is born," Eliza told him.

"I'm not sure," Jim said honestly. "I told you about two weeks," he said to his daughter as she lowered the bow she held. "But I might try for a month."

"Would you be able to go to Orlando and DC with us?" Castle asked since he and his wife had gotten everything for that trip set since they'd discussed it in the city.

"That's the problem," Jim said. "If I take a month I wouldn't be able to take from June to September."

"Then just take two weeks," Beckett told her father with a smile. "We want you with us this summer."

Smiling as his granddaughters were nodding to what their mother was saying Jim told them, "Alright, but I forgot to ask what you two will do for your anniversary if we're not spending that much time out traveling," directing that to Castle and Beckett.

"We're going to Adare for a few days," the latter told her father. "He's made reservations already so we need to ask you and Martha if you can take care of the girls."

"Easily," Jim said simply.

"Okay then we're set," Beckett said.

"Mommy go!" Eliza said when they were all silent. She smiled when the others laughed and watched with them as Beckett raised the bow again and began to fire her three arrows at the target.

"Someone make a note that she got twenty-nine," Castle said before he hurried over to the target to grab the arrows.

"I did," Jim told his daughter.

"What if Daddy wins?" Eliza asked her mother.

"It doesn't matter," Beckett said, knowing already her husband wanted the same she did if he won.

"Mom?" Julia said then to get her attention. When her mother looked at her she smiled and said, "Do you need to sit?"

"I'm fine," Beckett said before she playfully tickled her daughter's neck. "Let your dad worry about that because he's going to be doing that for a very long time."

"Okay," Castle said, coming back to them. "Love I think we should just keep using the same three arrows."

"I had the same thought," Beckett replied with a nod. "Okay, your turn."

"Do you need the chair over here while you're waiting for me?" Castle asked her as he grabbed one of his arrows. He was startled when the others started to laugh, and he glanced at them saying, "One of you asked already?"

"I did," Julia said. "But Mom said she's fine Daddy, I mean Dad."

"Then I guess we should trust her," Castle said, smiling at his wife.

"Thank you for that," Beckett said as he turned to the target. She reminded herself to thank him for not mentioning the fact that Julia was making mistakes calling them mom and dad. She watched with her father and daughters as Castle shot off his three arrows and said, "We might need to have a shoot off," since he'd ended up with the same score as hers.

"Why don't you just have a tie?" Jim asked her. "Better for wives and husbands not to compete."

"We aren't really," Beckett told him, hoping he couldn't ask her any more than that.

Jim studied his daughter as she greeted her husband returning to them and watched Beckett murmur into Castle's ear. When his son in law laughed he smiled himself before his daughter was gasping slightly. He was concerned for a moment before she spoke, her hand on her abdomen relaxing him slightly.

"She's kicking," Beckett told them. "A little hard there, sorry," she said as she moved Castle's hand where her own had been.

"Do you want to keep going?" Castle asked her.

"I do, I'm fine," Beckett assured him. She tugged on his arm slightly so he leaned over to her and they kissed gently before she went to grab her own arrows. She and her husband went two more times and at the end he won so they didn't need to do a final shot to break a tie. "I hope you guys don't mind if I go sit," she told them. When her husband and father were quick to say no; talking at the same time; she smiled at them and said, "I'll be right here."

"We'll take you over there Mom," Julia said quickly, grabbing her mother's hand. She and Eliza went over to the chairs with her and once she was sitting she said, "We can fly our kites now?"

"Of course," Beckett replied. "But I hope you don't mind if I wait a little to join you."

"Are you okay Mommy?" Eliza asked worriedly.

"I am," Beckett said quickly to reassure her, cupping her cheek gently. "I just need a little rest."

"Oh," Eliza said. She was going to climb onto her mother's lap but then stopped herself and she stomped her foot saying, "I wanna sit on your lap."

"I know," Beckett said as she wrapped her arms around her daughter tightly. She pressed a kiss to her forehead and said, "For now this will have to be as good."

"I think Lizzy wants to ask you something now," Julia said with a smile as she watched her sister.

"I don't wanna be a baby," Eliza said as her mother pulled back to look at her. "But… will you lay down with me before I fall asleep?"

"Of course," Beckett said immediately, almost before she finished asking. "I did that for your sister too."

"When you had me in your tummy?" Eliza asked.

"She did," Julia said quickly. "A lot of times before. But just when you gotta fall asleep."

"And I'll do that tonight after your sister and daddy say goodnight to you," Beckett told her. She shared a kiss with her youngest before she looked at Julia and held her arm out to her, pulling her close. Kissing her temple, she said, "I know you don't need me to do that anymore but-"

"Don't worry Mom," Julia interrupted her, hugging her mother tightly around the neck. "I still want you to tuck me in for now."

"For now," Beckett said with a laugh. "Then when you get older just promise me you'll say goodnight and we'll share a kiss."

"We will," Julia said. "But what if I get married?"

"Then we'll kiss each other on the cheek," Beckett said reassuringly. "But for now you're still my little one, go fly your kites with your dad and grandpapa," she told the girls as her husband and father had been waiting for them that entire time. She leaned back against the chair and watched as the four set the two kites aloft on the grass in front of her, the dogs coming out and gathering around her feet. She smiled listening to them talking and laughing as they were keeping the kites in the sky until she felt that she had rested enough and she got up, walking over to them to join them and help Eliza fly hers.

* * *

"Hey love," Castle said, looking up at his wife as she got onto one of the chairs at the island. "Got bored?"

"No, our daughters said they'd be fine with their grandpapa," Beckett said with a smile. She watched her husband get her some water and smiled before she said, "They were very insistent and actually I don't mind too much."

"No?" Castle asked her.

"No," Beckett replied. "I wanted to talk to you, see what you thought about Julia calling us mom and dad now."

"I'm perfectly fine with that," Castle said. "I've gone through that before. It's a little heartbreaking to know they're growing up so much but… you're still their parent; or parents."

"I've been trying to tell myself that," Beckett replied. "I keep reminding myself I called my mother that for a long time so it's nothing different."

"But you want to keep her little," Castle said knowingly.

Sighing Beckett said, "Yeah. You know how that is."

"Of course," Castle replied. "But remember," he began before he stopped himself shortly. " _Remember_ ," he then continued in Irish. " _We have a short period of time until the fourteenth and the seventeenth_."

Beckett nodded and said, " _I do remember. At least she'll have fun then_."

" _And us too_ ," Castle reminded her. " _But I agree, I really wish that she could stay little. But she's becoming just like her mother so I'm happy about that_."

Smiling at the fact that he was looking at her pointedly Beckett said, " _She's a sweet girl_."

Castle set aside the food he needed to make in the wok before he washed his hands and went around to his wife. He embraced her tightly and then said to her, " _You're a great mother you know_."

" _And you're a great father yourself_ ," Beckett told him, her arms wrapped around his neck. They kissed gently then and carefully before they parted, and she looked into his eyes deeply before she murmured, " _Tonight_ -"

" _I don't need to take everything for myself_ ," Castle said. " _I don't want to anyways_."

" _Are you sure because_ -" Beckett began.

Shaking his head and squeezing his hands on his wife gently Castle told her, " _I'm sure, anyways we were asking for the same thing so all I ask for is you'll allow me to decide something myself the second time. You can have the rest of the night_."

" _I wonder sometimes if you're for real_ ," Beckett told him teasingly.

" _I am, I'll prove it to you tonight_ ," Castle replied, leaning over and brushing his lips against hers. " _Anyways I always remember that when we're together I get exactly what I need too. Especially when you're satisfied_."

" _Then we're good together_ ," Beckett told him in slight amusement.

" _Extremely_ ," Castle said simply before they were kissing again. It was a heavy, passionate one and he had to wonder after how exactly they weren't going into a second and third one. But they parted, and he pulled away saying, "I need to get back to lunch, don't I?" reverting to English.

"You do," Beckett told him with a nod. She smiled when he sighed and then squeezed her tightly before she watched him go over to the stove.

As he was starting the beef and broccoli Castle glanced back at his wife and he smiled after a while asking her, "What's on your mind?"

"Oh… nothing really," Beckett said. She wasn't surprised when her husband just looked at her before quickly going back to the wok and she said, "Just remembering Julia… _at the beginning_ ," ending in Irish.

"Anything specific?" Castle asked.

" _Yes_ ," Beckett said, speaking in Irish again. " _Around the time before her summer camp started… the Saturday before it_."

" _I was there_ ," Castle commented.

" _You were there, towards the end_ ," Beckett answered with a smile. She then began to tell him about that day, remembering it easily as she seemed to do when she had first had Julia at home as her daughter.

* * *

 _Crawling under the sheet Julia managed to get up on her mother's bed before she slid up next to her and lay down next to her, snuggling close. "Mommy?" she whispered to her._

 _Coming awake slowly Beckett turned her head and smiled at the sight of her daughter lying next to her. "Morning sweetie," she said as she sat up. She wrapped her arms around Julia tightly and pulled her close to her, kissing her cheek gently. "Did you sleep good last night?"_

 _"Yeah, do I have to go to camp now?" the little girl asked shyly._

 _"Not yet," Beckett assured her. "Not for another two days."_

 _"Good, morning Mommy," Julia said, wrapping her arms around her mother as tightly as she could._

 _Beckett laughed softly and then wrapped her arms around her daughter, pulling her close before she took her onto her lap. "So today we can do whatever you'd like if it's not something bad," she told her as they pulled away from each other._

 _"Um," Julia said, scrunching her nose to think._

 _"Why don't we get ready and eat breakfast first?" Beckett asked her with a laugh._

 _"Kay," Julia said with a nod. She let her mother pick her up and take her off the bed before they went over to her room. "Mommy?" she asked her._

 _"Yes sweetie," Beckett replied, getting her daughter's outfit._

 _"Can we go see some aminals?" Julia asked._

 _"Maybe," Beckett replied. "What kind?"_

 _"Horsies!" Julia said eagerly._

 _"I'll we what we can do," Beckett told her with a smile. "But for now, think of something else too."_

 _"Kay," Julia replied before she got dressed with her mother's help. Back in Beckett's room she sat on her mother's bed as she watched her change and then brushed her hair. "Mommy?" she then said._

 _"Did you think of something else?" Beckett asked._

 _"Can we just stay here?" Julia asked slowly._

 _"Do you want to?" Beckett said._

 _"Yeah," Julia replied, nodding her head rapidly._

 _"We can but we should take a walk after lunch," Beckett told her. She took her daughter down from the bed and said as they walked out to the living room, "To the park."_

 _"Yeah," Julia said eagerly._

 _Beckett laughed softly before she took her daughter into the kitchen so she would be with her while she was making their meal._

* * *

"I remember that story," Castle told his wife. "You took her out to the playground after you two ran around the apartment and had lunch. And I got there in time for dinner."

"With dinner," Beckett said with a smile. "Alright, it's ready?" she asked him as while she'd been telling him about the little bit from that morning he'd finished the beef and made a quick batch of chow mein.

"It is, I should have called them to set the table," Castle said as he was grabbing some plates.

"Hold on," Beckett told her husband since he was going to the table. She got down from the chair and she called, "Julia, Eliza you two need to set the table."

Hurrying out of the room Julia said, "Are you still making lunch?"

"No, it's ready," Beckett answered first.

"We just forgot to tell you guys to come over and do this," Castle said. He watched as the two hurried to set out the plates before setting the napkins and forks and chopsticks down. "Now we're ready," he said as he brought the bowls with the food in them over to it.

"This looks very nice," Jim said after they had all gotten food.

"Thank you, one of the first Chinese dishes I learned to make," Castle said as they watched the girls taking their first bites. "My mother loves this."

"She couldn't come with you?" Jim asked.

With a smile Castle said, "Too much to plan for her class this week. She'll be here for Julia's birthday."

The girl smiled at the mention of her birthday and she said, "Good, she can come then."

"What about ours?" Eliza asked her father.

"We'll be upstate," Castle assured her. "And when I say we'll I mean we all will be there together."

"Yay," Eliza said quietly before they all laughed together. She went back to her food as the others were talking together, wondering if they knew how much she wanted to turn five. As her mother got her some more broccoli she decided it didn't matter and then asked her parents what they were going to do later as she was hoping to suggest they could go outside again once they finished their meal.


	31. Here, With Our Love (Part 2)

Entering her room Julia closed the door and locked it before she hurried over to her desk, grabbing a notebook from it. Setting it on top of her desk she paused, feeling a rush of cold air that made her turn whispering, "Grandmama?"

"Julia?" a voice said at the door, making the girl cry out in her shock at it and the knock that accompanied it.

"Julia what's wrong?" Becket asked, trying the knob and startled to find it locked. "Sweetie open-" she began to say before the door opened. "What is it?" she asked. "And why did you have the door locked?" she then said, wondering if her daughter was about to do something more adult than she thought Julia would do.

"I…" Julia began before trailing off. She looked over at her desk where her mother was looking and groaned saying, "I was writing!"

"Okay," Beckett said, unable to help jumping slightly at her daughter's near shouting. "There's nothing wrong with that of course."

"I guess," Julia mumbled. When her mother cupped her cheek she said, "Sorry Mom I just… I'm a little bit embarrassed."

"How come?" Beckett asked.

"It's not a crime," Julia said softly as her mother stepped into the room. She was startled when she closed the door behind them and said, "You're not going to tell Dad are you?"

"Not unless you want me to," Beckett said, following her daughter to the desk.

"I decided to try and write like in the past life that Dad told us about," Julia said.

"Okay," Beckett said. "So it's in the twenties."

Nodding Julia then explained, "It's about women like Rose and Mary."

"Oh, that should be interesting," Beckett said, sitting down in her daughter's desk chair.

"Do you want to read it?" Julia asked.

"No," Beckett said. "I'm glad you told me about it, but I don't need to read it unless you ever want me to."

"Thanks," Julia said before she hugged her mother tightly.

"You're welcome," Beckett replied. "Now you don't need to lock the door since we've gotten that set," she said after her daughter had stepped back and was looking at her. "You know that in this house a closed door means that you knock first before trying to go inside."

"I know I just felt really shy about this," Julia told her mother, looking over at the notebook she was writing her story in.

"Why?" Beckett asked. "Because it's not a mystery? Or because of the fact you're trying to write like a grown up?"

"Both?" Julia said slowly.

Beckett was going to respond to that when there was a knock on the door and she said to her daughter, "That's your dad, can he come in?" After Julia nodded she called, "Love you can come in."

"Hey… I hate coming in like this when you two are talking," Castle said as he stepped inside, closing the door behind him. "But I managed to get a reservation for dinner."

"Really," Beckett said in amusement.

"Really," Castle replied. "You don't-" he started to say to Julia.

"Nope," the girl said, cutting him off. Julia smiled and then said, "We want you to go 'cause we had dinner with you on Friday and then with just Mom last night. We'll be good with Grandpapa."

"Okay, so we got the reservations but they're at five thirty, so I hope you don't mind needing to go soon," Castle directed to his wife. "And with that I should-"

"Wait," Beckett interrupted him.

Castle was startled, turning to his wife, when he saw their oldest was biting at her lower lip. He wanted to ask what was wrong, thinking that was why the door had been closed, when Beckett continued.

"Would you mind if our daughter ever wrote a genre other than crime or mystery?" she asked her husband.

Julia was startled, as for a brief second she'd thought her mother was going to tell her father about her story, before she breathed out in relief when she finished her question.

"Why would I mind?" Castle asked, shaking his head and frowning slightly. "You can write whatever you want it's your decision." He smiled and said, "Is that what you were doing?"

Julia nodded slowly, afraid then her father was going to ask more about it but she was startled again when he merely nodded and then talked to her mother.

"Okay, well I'm going to get ready Kate," Castle said.

"I'll be following you soon," Beckett replied before she turned to Julia. Once the door was closed again she said, "I wasn't going to tell him, just that. So now you don't need to be embarrassed. And as for the idea that you're trying to write like a grownup, you're supposed to. Just don't get frustrated if you have some difficulties."

"I won't," Julia replied. When her mother stood she said quickly, "I'm going to write them together… try to."

"Not a surprise," Beckett said with a smile before she paused.

"I don't know how to write them being grownups like that," Julia said, her cheeks heating up quickly. "Just kissing."

"That's fine," Beckett assured her. "Go on down to your sister and grandpapa, we'll come see you before we go." When Julia nodded she then stopped her before she could leave her room and told her, "You might want to put your story away."

"Thanks," Julia said in relief. She went to her desk and watched her mother leave; quickly putting the notebook back in its drawer before she hurried downstairs and to the family room hoping her sister and grandfather wouldn't ask her what she'd been doing.

"She's writing something?" Castle asked his wife as soon as she'd closed their bedroom door behind her.

"Mmm-hmm and that's all I can tell you because she doesn't want you to know the particulars," Beckett replied. She went over to where he was standing and kissed his cheek before saying, "She's a little embarrassed about it right now, just give her time."

"Okay," Castle breathed. He was going to go over to their closet with her to get his shirt when there was a knock on the door. "Julia?" he said in surprise when he opened it to reveal the girl on the other side.

"Mom you can tell Dad what I wrote," Julia said before she ran off to go back downstairs.

Beckett couldn't help smiling at the look her husband gave her and she said, "Close the door." Once he had she told him what she'd found out and said when she finished, "I have to admit I thought she might have been a little busy trying to pleasure herself when I noticed the door was locked and-"

"Trying?" Castle asked. When she gave him a look he coughed and said, "Sorry."

With a slight incline of her head Beckett told him, "But she's a little unsure about writing these two women."

"I can't blame her," Castle replied. "But you told her she doesn't need to write perfectly right?"

Beckett told him what she'd told their daughter about writing like an adult as they went to get their clothes and after they were changing she said, "And I think that's why she didn't want us to know."

"Well I'm with you, we don't need to read it until she wants us to," Castle said.

With a smile Beckett went to her husband and kissed his cheek before she led the way to their bathroom to finish getting ready as they were both changed for their dinner.

"Are you alright honey?" Jim asked his granddaughter when she appeared back inside the family room.

"Yeah, sorry I wanted to talk to Mom and Dad really fast," Julia told him. She smiled and then said, "Are we playing with the dogs?"

"She is," Jim said as he'd been watching Eliza playing tug of war with Max.

"I am too," Julia said, going to Macca and taking his toy away from him. She began to play tug of war with him as well before she saw Castle and Beckett in the doorway of the room and she let go of the toy, standing up. "You look really nice," she told them.

"Thank you," Beckett said, wrapping her arms around her youngest as she'd come over to her. "We'll just go to dinner and come back home."

"Why don't you go to a movie?" Jim suggested.

"We-" Castle began to say.

"Yeah, you should go," Eliza said.

"There was that documentary," Beckett told her husband as he turned to her.

Castle smiled and said, "We should go."

"What's it about?" Julia asked interestedly.

"Believe it or not San Francisco in the twenties," Castle said. "It's about two hours though," he then directed to his wife.

"We need to say goodnight to them now," Beckett replied simply. "Come with us to the entry," she said to the girls. She took Eliza's hand and pulled her over to the room, sitting on the bench and hugging her tightly. "I love you sweetie, have fun with your grandpapa and sister."

"I will," Eliza said with a wide smile. "You too."

"I'm sure we will," Beckett replied before they shared a kiss.

"Love you Mommy," Eliza said before she hugged her mother again tightly.

Julia waited for her sister to let go of their mother and as soon as she had she was embracing Beckett herself. "Love you Mommy… Mom have fun," she told her before smiling at her slip up.

"I love you too Julia," Beckett told her, rubbing her hand gently over her back. "Have fun too and we want to hear about what you do in the morning."

"We'll tell you," the girl said with a wide smile. She shared a kiss with her mother and with a last embrace went with her sister over to their father who pulled them into his arms as soon as they were close.

"I love you Julia, Eliza," Castle said. "This'll probably be the last time we go out to dinner though un-" he started to say.

"No!" Eliza cried out.

"Until we're traveling for Spring Break," Castle finished. "You stopped me before I could say that," he said teasingly to his daughter.

Julia smiled as her sister giggled and then said, "I love you Dad, have a great night."

"Thanks, you guys should too," Castle said, leaning down to share a kiss with her. "I'm hoping you do."

"Love you Daddy," Eliza said eagerly. "Me too."

"Thank you," Castle said before he shared a kiss with her. He gave the two a final hug together before he turned to his father in law, shaking his hand firmly telling him, "Thank you."

"You're welcome but you should thank them," Jim told him.

"You're welcome," Julia and Eliza said at the same time.

"Thanks," Beckett said, shaking her heads at them.

"Thank you," Castle added. "Though you beat us to the punch."

"But thank you too Dad," Beckett told her father as she hugged him tightly. "And I'm sure they'll behave for you."

"I have no worries about that," Jim said simply. "Have fun Katie."

"We will," Beckett assured him. She then let her husband help her into her jacket and they waved to their daughters before they went out to the garage. She allowed her husband to help her into the passenger seat in their car and said, "I get the feeling this is it for me driving. Well this morning I should say."

"I can't stop you when I'm not here," Castle pointed out to her as he backed out of the garage.

"No," Beckett replied. "And I told the girls the same thing," she said with a smile. "I'm eager for the movie."

"Me too, I would have suggested this weekend but I guess that my being gone pushed that up to now," Castle said after he turned to the street where the French restaurant was.

"French for breakfast and dinner," Beckett commented.

"You don't mind?" Castle asked.

"Not at all," Beckett said. "If we were in France we might do the same."

"Good point," Castle replied with a smile. He reached over and squeezed her hand before he went through the intersection they were stopped at. He got to the restaurant shortly after and he said, "Alright on your own?"

"I'm fine," Beckett said, unable to help smiling. She stood up out of the car and told her husband, "I'm surprised you asked."

"I figured it would be fair," Castle told her, walking over to her and taking her hand. They went inside and after they were seated at their table he said, "Do you want to go anywhere?"

"You mean after the movie?" Beckett asked him, not surprised he hadn't specified where as she looked over at him to see he was looking at his menu closely.

"Yeah, sorry," Castle said, glancing up at her.

"One place," Beckett said easily.

"Where?" Castle asked when his wife didn't continue.

" _Ár seomra leapa_ ," Beckett replied.

Castle tried not to react too visibly to that as she'd said their bedroom. He managed to just breathe out heavily and then said, "Good place to go."

Beckett smiled and said, "I'm not surprised you agree."

Castle wanted to continue but their waitress had come over, so he ordered quickly for them and after they were alone again he asked her, "Think we should have told Julia at least the documentary was about crimes in San Francisco?"

"Not really," Beckett replied. "I don't really want to scare her."

"You think that would?" Castle said.

"I don't want to risk it," Beckett said. "I'd like her to stick with her childhood for just a little longer."  
"Is this because she's calling us mom and dad now?" Castle said with a smile.

"Slightly," Beckett said after hesitating for a moment. She then smiled back at him and said, "But really I just want her to enjoy her night with her sister and grandfather."

"And the dogs," Castle said.

Laughing softly Beckett replied, "And the dogs." After they had their drinks she said, "You know I'm surprised it's going so well with six of them."

"Me too," Castle said. "Luckily we trained Macca and Rita. I like to think they've influenced the rest of them."

"It's possible but they were all trained when we got them, remember," Beckett told him. "But-" she started to say before placed her hand on her abdomen.

"Too hard?" Castle asked her, looking at her.

"Yeah," Beckett said with a slight smile on her face. "She's running out of room."

"Well-" Castle started to say before he had to stop himself as their food was being served to them. "You're taking it as a positive."

"I am," Beckett said in amusement. She watched him for a moment as he divided the steak they were going to share before also splitting the _frites_ that came with it. "I'm fairly sure I've conveyed that I've been okay with this pregnancy," she told him as she took the plate he handed her. "Now if you were asking me if I was ready for the baby to be born…"

"Mixed bag?" Castle asked knowingly.

"Yes," Beckett replied, knowing that she didn't need to explain herself. They ate for a while in silence before she told him, "They're not going to focus too much on Fatty Arbuckle in the movie, are they?"

"I called that friend of mine I told you had worked on it," Castle answered after taking a quick sip of wine. "And he said they barely mentioned it because it's already too well known." He paused and then said, "What if there's a murder like the-"

"That club might not even be real," Beckett protested as she knew already what he was going to say.

"Actually, it was but it wasn't called the Blue Bay," Castle replied. "It was called the Presidio West Establishment. Then it was called the San Francisco Beach Club after Prohibition ended before it went out of business in '46."

"So…" Beckett began to say.

"Look I know you're still not believing this but I think my mind couldn't fill in these blanks so I just made them up with what I saw," Castle said quickly. "Really the Blue Bay?"

"I had thought of that myself," Beckett replied. "It might explain why our names stayed the same and why you had almost your father's last name."

"I'm alright," Castle said quickly as she mentioned his father at a slower speed.

"You've found out about the club," Beckett began. "And it eventually was destroyed."

"It was but notice that it became a full club," Castle told her.

"I got that, I'm guessing we couldn't compete with the clubs in the city at the end?" Beckett asked.

"Not a chance," Castle replied. "But if you're asking about the owners that's as far as I could go; the name of the place and when it closed."

"Not even who formed it?" Beckett asked.

Shaking his head Castle said, "That seemed to be lost which was… bizarre to say the least."

"The records were lost," Beckett suggested.

"More than likely," Castle said with a nod.

"Well if that's the case I really doubt the case you saw would show up," Beckett replied. She wasn't surprised when her husband looked disappointed as he nodded so she took his hand to squeeze it gently. After he'd smiled at her she changed the subject, asking him where he would want to take their three daughters once they returned to the city in the future. That seemed to take his mind off it and she was glad it did as their conversation was far more eager while they finished their meal.

* * *

Looking over at the doorway to the family room Jim stood when he heard a door closing, walking to the hall and seeing that he hadn't been mistaken. "Hello again," he said to his daughter and son in law as they were taking off their jackets. "How was the movie?"

"You should see it Dad," Beckett told him with a smile. "It was really well done."

"It wasn't-" Jim began to say.

"It wasn't all about Fatty Arbuckle," Beckett interrupted him. "I asked him the same before we left dinner. They went to bed alright?"

"I reminded them you two would be here in the morning to take them to school," Jim said. "And they weren't happy, but they went."

"Julia a little more willing?" Castle asked as he placed his hand on his wife's back.

"Slightly, after I reminded her about her calendar," Jim said.

"Of course, thirteen more days until the party," Beckett said, shaking her head as she smiled. "I'm going to head up and check on them, goodnight Dad. Thank you again."

"I'll follow you," Beckett's father said.

"I'll go too," Castle said. "I want to see them too."

Going up the stairs first Beckett knew the two men were keeping an eye on her before she reached the top and said, directly to her husband, "When I have the baby you have to stop."

"Lessen," Castle shot back.

Rolling her eyes, though she was smiling, Beckett hugged her father since they would be getting to his room first before she and Castle walked down the hall. She couldn't help touching the door of the baby's room in passing and she murmured, " _Ba mhaith liom a fheiceáil_."

Nodding immediately in agreement, as she'd said she really wanted to see the baby, Castle also added verbally, " _Mise freisin_." He wanted to add more but they were reaching Eliza's room and he thought saying so did he was enough. He then watched her go inside first, trying not to laugh at the way the dogs were raising their heads at almost the same time. He went to the three, petting them carefully while his wife leaned over Eliza slightly.

Beckett was relieved to see the little girl was fast asleep and she fixed her covers and her stuffed horse before pressing a kiss to her temple. She moved out of the way of her husband, watching him kissing the side of Eliza's head before he came to her. She pet the dogs' heads quickly as they left and inside Julia's room bit at her lower lip to find their oldest had a book laying open on her chest and a still lit flashlight next to her hand. She and Castle took the book and flashlight carefully before they set them aside and she turned back to their oldest first. Kissing her forehead once she was sure the covers were set back to normal on Julia she watched her husband do the same and they pet the three dogs at the end of the bed before they went over to their room, Castle locking the door behind them.

"Listen," he told his wife as he watched her go over to the bed after taking off her aquamarine bracelet she'd put on for their dinner.

"Stop," Beckett told him, sitting on the edge of the bed and slipping off her short heels. "I know what you're going to ask, and you don't need to. I'm fine and I guess it's tradition."

"Adult tradition?" Castle asked her.

"If you want to call it that," Beckett said as she stood back up. "But I'm fine with it though I wonder-"

"Now I need to stop you," Castle hurriedly interrupted her as he stepped up to her. "I enjoyed it your last pregnancy up until the ninth month and I'll still enjoy it now."

"Okay," Beckett said with a slight laugh. "Then I guess we should start."

"You said my camera was over there in the cabinet?" Castle asked her as he went over to his nightstand.

"It is," Beckett said as she stood at the end of the bed, watching him. When he came over to her she said, "Nothing special?"

"I thought about that, but I actually don't have it being delivered until tomorrow," Castle replied. "The meeting was too sudden," he added.

"I guess so," Beckett replied with a smile. "Alright so how do you want to start?" When her husband grabbed for her and pulled her directly against his chest she moaned as their lips smashed together roughly. She held onto him tightly before they needed to part to breathe shortly after and she said, "How long do you plan to do that?"

"You want to get it over with, don't you?" Castle replied with a question.

"Yes," Beckett said. "That shouldn't surprise you."

"No but I thought you'd be used to it," Castle said.

"I never was but I'm not going to tell you to stop," Beckett commented with a shrug. "Don't ask me if I'm sure," she said quickly.

"Right," Castle said before he recalled what he was going to ask her. "Are you cold?"

"Hurry," Beckett said, watching him go over to the fireplace. When he came back to her she said, "Your knee."

"Rain but not for a while," Castle said before he wrapped his arms around her to kiss her again. After they'd parted again sometime later he helped her begin to undress, watching as she ran her hands over her abdomen slowly. He couldn't help himself and he knelt in front of her, trailing his lips down her skin before he breathed out hard against it and said, "This is going to be difficult."

Waiting for him to stand back up Beckett said with a slight smile on her face, "It always is for you."

"And you," Castle shot back as he let his wife unbutton his shirt.

"Pervert," Beckett told him with a wider smile as she waited for him to take off his shirt before she helped him with his pants. "These?" she asked, touching the waistband of his boxers.

"Leave them," Castle said. "It's easier to…"

"To what?" Beckett said teasingly as he helped her over to his side of the bed. When he didn't continue he had her lay down she said, "Keep under control?"

Gritting his teeth for a moment at her tone Castle finally recovered enough to say, "Your words not mine."

Beckett lay on her side and watched her husband grabbing a blanket they had before she said, "This isn't your usual."

"I figured we should change it," Castle replied, draping it over her body before she helped him.

"It's a nice color," Beckett said as it was a sky blue. He would tend to use darker blues, but she had to admit it was one of their prettier blankets. ' _Softer too_ ,' she told herself in her head. ' _You might need to talk to him about your plans later_.' She shook herself of her thoughts and then told him, "I'm ready."

"Okay," Castle replied as he made sure the blanket was in a good enough position. He went to his nightstand and grabbed the camera there, turning back and seeing that his wife was covering her breasts with her arm. Trying not to react he took a picture nearly above her before he sat at the end of the bed to take a picture of her from that angle. He allowed himself one more before he sat closer to her and then nearly tossed the camera aside before he reached for her.

Sitting up herself as she knew that was coming Beckett wrapped her arms around her husband's neck and wasn't surprised when he pulled her onto his lap the second before their lips crushed together. She slid her right hand up the back of his neck so her fingers could slip through his hair and as their tongues began to tangle together in their second kiss her nails were raking gently on his scalp. They had to stop but she didn't let that last for long before she was kissing him that time, slipping her tongue into his mouth to fight his again.

Though he wanted to move them Castle found he couldn't do it since his wife was doing a good job stimulating him. Their fourth kiss he came back to himself a little more and he said, "This… we better…"

Beckett did her best not to smile at his inability to finish that and instead leaned over, gently brushing her lips against his. When she pulled back enough she told him, "I'm ready."

"Yeah," Castle breathed out heavily before he let her get off him. He stood up with her once she got off the bed and before either of them could do anything he was going to ask her what she wanted when she cut him off before he could even begin to utter a word.

"You know I'm a little upset," Beckett told her husband as she adjusted the blanket that had still been draped over her and had moved with her.

"Upset?" Castle asked, a little startled.

"Yes, you never used this blanket before," Beckett said. "You should have."

"I guess so," Castle replied before he swallowed a little hard. "I guess I should tuck you in with that then."

Resisting the urge to roll her eyes Beckett didn't say anything, reaching for the waistband of his boxers and paused for a moment before saying, "I don't think you should."

Castle was tempted to ask what she was talking about when she smiled at him and he breathed out saying, "So I will put you to bed just not in that sense."

"I'll take care of myself," Beckett said with a slight smirk on her face. " _Ní bheidh sé uait sin_."

Breathing out as he watched her lay on the bed Castle was quick to dispose of his boxers; as she'd told him he didn't need them; before he climbed on the bed with her and he said, "The blanket-"

"Don't play with it," Beckett hurried to interrupt him. "You'll get it wet and I don't want to have to wash it yet."

"Then shouldn't… oh," Castle began before he quickly understood what she meant by that. "Then could… I… touch… you."

Biting on her lower lip to not laugh at the way her husband was speaking Beckett finally said, "I think you can but I want you to fuck me Rick, not play with my clit."

Leaning down Castle captured his wife's lips with his own before he plunged his tongue into her mouth. At the same time, they began to duel wildly together he reached in between them and he began to rub her clit, carefully playing around with the swollen nub as he knew she loved him doing. But he didn't do it for very long, moving back so he could take her hand with his own.

Taking his erection into her hand Beckett began to gently stroke her husband, watching his eyes squeeze shut tightly as he reacted to her touch. She did that a few more times before he grabbed her wrist and she quickly told him, "You need to let me have my turn."

Shuddering visibly Castle wanted to say he'd let her have it for a while before he just nodded and did his best to withstand her stroking him. He felt a huge sense of relief when she eventually stopped, and he hurried to move as she tugged a little at him until he was sinking inside of her to their sighs of relief. He kissed her as hard as he could before they pulled away and said, "You're okay?"

"Well… I could use a little height on my back," Beckett said. She was relieved when he tucked some pillows behind her back and once she was propped up enough she was wrapping her legs around his legs since she couldn't quite reach his waist. She was a little frustrated to realize that, but he was soon moving and she cried out in joy as that immediately affected her. The pleasure was heat, white hot and intense since her husband was able to get deep within her still. She did her best to move with him though it was difficult and, in the end, didn't mind, just watched her husband as he was working so hard and obviously feeling the same pleasure she was since it was clear on his face.

After a while of getting used to the rhythm he had Castle leaned down enough so he could reach his wife's lips. He took them roughly again and their tongues were tangling together frantically at first. Eventually they slowly parted and he nuzzled her jaw with his lips before he went further to her ear. He could just barely take the lobe between his teeth and he proceeded to nibble at what he could until he murmured, "This is what you want?"

"Yes," Beckett told him, breathing out the words. "But not for long." She was pleased when he suddenly stopped, and she told him, "You don't want to move around?"

"Sampling?" Castle asked her. When she nodded he kissed her but kept it swift before he pulled away and said, "That might be too rough."

"Not if you go slowly," Beckett pointed out to him.

Breathing out heavily Castle then said, "Okay."

Beckett was a little startled at how quickly her husband acquiesced before she had to move with him as he was pulling out of her while he took her arm. Once he was on his knees she got on top of him and told him, "You should be rewarded."

"Please," Castle managed to say before his wife got onto him fully. As she was spreading her legs a little more he grabbed at the small of her back and told her, "You might-"

"I'm fine," Beckett said. "But I'm not moving yet." She smiled when he looked at her closely and told him, "It would just interrupt you."

It didn't take Castle very long to figure that out and he was bowing his head almost immediately to go to her breasts. As soon as he was there he captured her right nipple between his lips, rubbing his tongue along the tip of it at first. While Beckett was crying out and holding onto the back of his head tightly he then began to suck at her, careful at first before he couldn't stop himself from going a little faster and harder. He wasn't surprised when his wife started to move against him but he didn't stop, feeling the added stimulation of the weaker thrusts of her hips as he moved to her other mound.

Beckett tried not to move around too much but it was next to impossible while her husband was stimulating her entire body with just his mouth. She was sure she was going to end up climaxing before long when he pulled back from her, looking up at her. "Are… that's it?" she asked, trembling slightly in his arms as he wrapped them tighter around her.

"I'll do better later," Castle promised. "I just want to make you come."

"Please," Beckett said, echoing him though she couldn't remember him saying that. She began to move, rocking her hips back and forth and making them both groan in pleasure at the sensation. She leaned down so they could kiss and they did so deeply, holding onto one another desperately. She fought his tongue in her mouth the best she could but soon she was pulling away telling him, "You have to stop me." And before he could reply she was pushing herself up and down by her legs, working her sex over him at the same time he was swearing heavily below her since it affected him just as much as her.

"Ah love," Castle groaned to her as he tried to stop her from moving. Once he managed to do so he held her tightly as he turned her onto her back. He looked down at her while her hair spilled over her side of the bed and he leaned down, thrusting hard once to see her reaction. The way her back arched made him groan as it made him sink further within her and he continued to move again. He felt her hands on his shoulders, holding onto them, before he suddenly said, "Put them over your head."

A little startled at the direction Beckett wasn't sure what he meant at first exactly before he was grabbing her arm gently. She raised both her arms over her head and then gasped out, "The headboard."

Swearing Castle stopped thrusting and apologized to her in Irish telling her, "I forgot we were laying this way." He helped her move around so she was lying on the pillows again and he began to thrust as soon as he was back inside of her. He was surprised when she pressed her hands flat to the headboard above her head before that seemed to help her and very soon after he was altering his thrusts. "Do you want me to move us around anymore?" he asked her.

"No," Beckett moaned deeply as their hips were smacking together loudly in the room. "Rick…" she breathed heavily in her joy. She knew she wasn't going to be able to last for too much longer as his faster and then slower thrusts were affecting her greatly. When her husband suddenly stopped she didn't say anything, merely murmuring, "Thank you."

"Too soon?" Castle asked though he was having a hard time as he was regretting stopping already.

"A little," Beckett replied. "I feel like we haven't been doing this for long."

"I don't know," Castle said, his voice slightly strangled. "I think it's been good for you, you're _throbbing_." When she pushed on the back of his neck with her hand he moved quickly, going down to her so they could kiss. The moment they were doing so he thrust but slowly so they could feel each other clearly. He groaned her name; having pulled away from her; as she cried out and they began to move together. They were still going slowly as he'd started out doing and kissed once more until he stopped, and she followed. "Do you-" he started to say.

"Fuck me again," Beckett said firmly.

Breathing out heavily Castle said, "I'm going to make this last longer." And with that he began to thrust roughly, not bothering to ease into it, as his wife was crying out in joy and doing her best to thrust with him so their hips smacked together. He felt the friction intense again between them and he breathed out heavily as it went through his entire body. The sensation was pure warmth with a shock every time he sank into her and he didn't want to but finally he stopped saying, "This hurts me too."

"I never said it hurt," Beckett replied. When he just looked at her she sighed and then said, "Okay, it's uncomfortable."

"Very," Castle replied as he could feel her still throbbing around him. "But… is this all you want?"

"No," Beckett said with a smile. She pulled him back down to her so they could kiss again and though she had more to say she didn't stop as he wasn't either. When they finally stopped she guessed they'd exchanged at least three kisses and her lips felt pleasantly full. "But I want you here next time."

"Kate-" Castle started to say in concern.

"I'm fine now, you're not on top of me," Beckett told him as he was fully on his hands and knees. "As long as you can do it."

"Oh… challenge," Castle said, trying to exaggerate his voice but unable to as she was flexing her muscles around him gently. "Love… fuck," he swore heavily.

Beckett wrapped her arms tightly around her husband as he began to move again, and she tried her best to match him. While she couldn't do that fully she kept working her sex over him as she'd been before, letting him slip his tongue into her mouth while they were kissing once again. That time she knew their times stopped hadn't been long enough and she gasped, "Oh… Rick I'm going to come I can't stop," as a warning to him that he responded to quickly.

"Then don't, come now my love," Castle managed to tell her. "And I'll make you… I'll make you come again just… now…" he breathed heavily as he could feel himself getting closer to the edge himself. He was kissing her, but it didn't last very long as she suddenly broke it off and he watched her while she arched her back roughly, crying out as well.

"Rick… oh I'm coming, oh please my love make me come! Rick!" Beckett called out to him before she simply chanted his name. The ecstasy was a rush from head to toe literally and it was unending, especially when she felt her husband joining her. She dug her nails momentarily into his shoulders when he began but started to claw at his back shortly after, trying not to scratch him too badly as everything got away from her and she had no idea how long it was before she was slowing down.

Knowing his wife had stopped eventually Castle was trying his best not to get out of control with the last of his thrusts. He didn't know how he didn't hurt her, his pleasure so intense he nearly forgot about her abdomen between them, but he was finally stopping and panting heavily as he breathed out her name repeatedly. He was a little startled when she pushed on his hip after they were both recovering, and he carefully left her before he laid on his side looking at her.

"You forgot we need to make up for last night," Beckett told him as she turned onto her side.

"Wait," Castle said as he moved and had her lay on her back again. He kissed her tenderly on the lips and said, "Speaking of what we didn't get to do last night…"

With a smile on her face Beckett watched her husband move down to her abdomen and start kissing at it gently. She caressed the back of his head and told him, "She missed you," as the baby began to move and shortly after started to kick.

"I think so," Castle said, caressing her reverently. He cupped his hand over her and then told his wife, " _Adhair mé leat… lig dom adhradh tú_."

Beckett bit at her lower lip for a moment at his huskier tone of voice telling her he adored her and asking her to let him worship her before she gently ran her nails over his scalp. " _Chomh fada is nach bhfuil tú ag stopadh_ ," she said, telling him as long as he didn't stop.

Though he didn't want to move from where he was Castle couldn't stop himself and pushed himself up to lay directly next to her, wrapping his arms around her tightly before they kissed. After some time he reached down her body, getting to her abdomen and laying his hand gently there. Their kisses; as they couldn't stop; became more and more rapid and he was almost clutching at her before he felt a tap under his palm. "Are you-" he started to say as he and his wife broke apart breathlessly.

"I'm fine," Beckett said with a soft laugh though she was breathless herself. She pressed against him and murmured, "I love you."

"I love you too Kate," Castle said. "I didn't want to rush right into it," he explained as he didn't move from where he was holding her.

With a smile Beckett took his next kiss and said, "It's not rushing by now."

"No," Castle breathed out as he considered her words and saw the pointed look she was giving him. Though he didn't want to he slid his hand down her stomach until he was at her sex, cupping it firmly before he said thickly, "You're so warm."

"I…" Beckett started to say before she trailed off into a moan as he was rubbing her clit with his index finger. She shifted slightly against him in reaction to his delicate touch and she said, her voice a little distorted, "You're teasing me Rick."

"Just a little more," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife grabbed his hand before she literally hauled him on top of her. With a groan he sank inside of her body and the second they were coupled, and she had her legs wrapped around his legs, he was thrusting again.

The two were fast together and rough, stopping here and there when things became too much for them to handle. But finally they allowed themselves to climax, crying and yelling out each other's names until they were limp on the bed again, breathing hard together.

"Rick," Beckett stated. When he made a slight noise, she smiled and then pushed herself up to sit before she looked down at him.

"You're not tired?" Castle asked, looking at her above his arm he had slung over his face.

"Not at the moment," Beckett said honestly. She smiled at him as he sat up with her and said, "You never looked at the pictures you took."

"We can look at them in the daylight," Castle said after a moment's hesitation, leaning over and capturing her lips the second he'd finished speaking. He coaxed her tongue into his mouth after a while and somehow they moved together to lay her down. He reached up and palmed her breast, hoping she was alright with that as he moved to kiss at her neck before he sought her breasts. He took them carefully and leisurely, listening to the vocal reactions his wife was having to him doing that.

Eventually Castle moved up to his wife and they kissed passionately before they were making love again, that time mimicking the way he'd taken her breasts. They continued to kiss until they were climaxing nearly at the same time and when they finally parted he moved down to Beckett's stomach, kissing it tenderly again before she spoke.

"She knows you're here," Beckett told her husband teasingly.

"I know but still," Castle said. He pressed a kiss to where he could slightly guess the baby's head was by feeling for it and then told it, "We're getting closer to you here little one. I hope you don't mind we're probably going to be focusing on your big sister's birthday in a little bit."

"I don't think we're going to forget about her in the meantime," Beckett said. "My checkup is that Monday right after."

"Your mom's right," Castle directed to the baby. "We'll get to see you and see how much you've grown."

Laughing softly as she felt her husband was pushing carefully into her stomach Beckett said, "She moved."

"What have I been talking to this whole time?" Castle said. "Her shoulder?"

"I think so," Beckett said, laying her hand on her stomach. "But she still heard you."

"I'll take your word for it," Castle said. He pressed a last kiss to where the baby was and murmured something to her before he moved up to his wife to hold her in his arms again.

"What did you say?" Beckett asked in amusement as his hand was rubbing her stomach.

"Just letting her know I was going to be focusing on her mother," Castle said. He kissed his wife deeply as she looked up at him and their tongues met before she was pulling away. "What?" he asked, slightly startled at that action.

"Will you do something for me right now?" Beckett asked.

"Anything," Castle said immediately.

Unable to help smiling Beckett told her husband, "Pleasure me right now." She saw the question in his eyes and told him, "With your hands."

"Gladly," Castle said, kissing her hard before he reached up with his free hand to start with fondling her breasts.

Beckett was startled before she realized why he was doing it exactly as she could tell he wanted it to be quick. When he moved away from her she told him, "Pervert."

"Do you want me to stop?" Castle asked simply. When his wife lowered his hand to between her legs he tried not to smile, rubbing immediately at her clit and beginning to pleasure her as she'd asked.

Since her husband had already started to bring her to her orgasm Beckett wasn't surprised when she did so not too long after he had begun. But what took her aback was the fact that he was gently rubbing at her swollen nub and asking her a question in an almost strangled tone of voice.

"Do you want me to stop?" Castle asked, wanting desperately to make love to her after listening and watching her; as well as feeling her.

"No," Beckett breathed out. She looked at her husband as her desire was easily worked up again by him and she leaned up enough to kiss him for a moment before lying back down and bringing him onto her once again. They kissed a second time before they then spoke, filling the room with their breathy voices before their passionate lovemaking began to do so soon after.

"Will you love me Rick?"

" _Gcónaí_ Kate, always."


	32. Epilogue- Happy Birthday To You

Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor

Rating: M for sexual situations and language

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: As it says this is the epilogue so that means the end of the story, but I do have another one ready to go. So if anyone wants to read it look out for it in a few days!

A/N #2: I was happy getting the feedback I did for the last chapter so will go ahead and get started on my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Great to read you like how Julia is expanding her writing with that new genre. And nice that you still like how Castle and Beckett are still careful when they make love),

MsNYC (I'm glad to see your reaction to Julia starting to call Castle and Beckett mom and dad. To be honest I can't remember when I started doing that but glad that you could that way you could relate. So happy that you thought the flashbacks were great again! And I'm pleased you love how the girls always want Castle and Beckett together, lol, I figure they would in the end. I'm not surprised you thought Julia had no need to be embarrassed about her writing but at that age… lol, I could relate since I was like that at that age. And great you liked how Beckett handled the situation, it was how I figured she would, lol. Nice to read you're glad that Castle and Beckett had a good beginning to their evening with their dinner. I'm so happy that you think my love scenes are always tasteful, I try to do that! And not surprised you mentioned that the baby will be here shortly, lol, but of course I'm happy that you can't wait for that! I'm pleased to read that you thought it was great writing as usual too!) and

Mb (Happy to see that you thought the first half of the last chapter was a sweet update! I'm glad you loved that even though Castle was gone only for a day they all still missed each other, lol. I figured with as close as they are they would. I was of course pleased that you loved the flashback of Castle and Beckett's talk on the phone the night before, with them missing each other which you called normal, lol. And I had to laugh at you mentioning there was just enough of a hint of innuendo between them though that would be par for the course for them, lol. Great you figured Julia was getting to where she would start calling her parents mom and dad and that you started around that same age too. As I said before I can't remember when I started doing that myself so nice to know I'm not off with the age, lol. And I completely agree, mommy can slip out when you're upset so yeah, I see that happening with Julia of course. So happy you love their plans for their anniversary as well as their summer plans for the whole family! Nice to see you thought it was wonderfully written too! Happy reading you thought the second half was another fantastic update. I'm really glad you loved the beginning with Julia and Beckett and Julia writing a story that wasn't crime and attempting to write more as a grown up which was what I was trying to do. And glad that you enjoyed Beckett Julia mind about writing that genre as well as trying to write what she's not used to writing which was partially what she was embarrassed about. And I had wondered why you were mentioning Castle asking permission to come in knowing the two were having a mother daughter talk with the door closed but reading you have that same rule about a closed door. Actually, it's the same in my house which was why I wrote that. And glad you liked Beckett asking Castle how he felt about Julia writing a genre other than mysteries. But yeah, I don't think he'd really care what she wrote, so glad you mentioned him saying Julia could write whatever she liked to write about. I was happy to read that you laughed out loud when Beckett told Castle what she thought Julia was doing with her door locked, lol and then Castle's reaction to that. Also, nice you liked that Julia told Beckett quickly it was okay to tell Castle what exactly she wanted to write about. I'm glad you liked how they played outside. The same with Castle and Beckett's bet with their archery, definitely agree they were both winners with that bet, lol. And of course I'm so, so happy that you thought when they got home from their dinner that Castle and Beckett were hot, sexy, sensual and so loving since I try my best writing them like that. And also had to laugh a bit at your repeat they were hot and sexy, again, glad you thought that! Really happy you thought the second half was fantastic and amazing! You're very welcome for sharing!).

Thanks so much for the review, I loved reading each one and am grateful for the time taken to write them out and send them to me!

A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song _Birthday_ by John Lennon and Paul McCartney, from The Beatles' eponymous album.

Happy Birthday To You

Turning over onto her side Julia could feel the sun on her face and she slowly opened her eyes to find something in her vision that wasn't normally there. She frowned and sat up, looking at what was on her nightstand before she took the envelope that was leaning against her lamp. Her name was handwritten there on the cream-colored envelope in green ink and she turned it over, seeing a red wax seal pressed to close it there. She smiled and carefully opened it before she pulled out the letter inside.

"Easy JoJo," Julia said to the dog as he nudged his nose against her arm. She turned her attention back to the paper and then started to laugh as it was a copy of the letter in the first Harry Potter book though it had her name. Turning to the doorway when there was a knock on the wall outside she smiled when her mother walked in and she said, "Look what an owl brought me Mom."

"I see," Beckett said, taking the letter though she'd seen it already when her father had written it since he had the better handwriting in the family. "You're going to Hogwarts it looks like."

"I guess, kinda early though," Julia replied, getting up then. She hugged her mother and said, "Thanks."

"That's not all there is," Castle said as he came into the room.

"It isn't?" Julia asked in surprise.

"No, you didn't look over at your desk," Beckett said.

Walking over to it Julia gasped and said, "This is for me?"

"I can't imagine who else would have a uniform," Martha commented as she, Jim, Alexis, Louis and Eliza were in the doorway by then looking into the room.

"Thank you!" Julia cried, running over to her grandmother.

"You're welcome but I didn't make everything," Martha said in amusement before watching Julia rush to her mother.

"There is more," Jim said after Julia had run to him and hugged him for the letter.

"Lots," Eliza said before she frowned. "Is there?"

"There is," Castle said with a slight laugh. "But not until after lunch."

"I remember when everyone's gonna come for the party," Julia replied. "But thanks for my stuff so far."

"We should go ahead and eat some breakfast," Beckett said then, standing up from the side of the bed. "That way you're ready to go to school later. But there's something we need to do first."

"Happy Birthday!" Eliza cried out.

Julia giggled as her family all wished her that; though she'd turned eleven the past Tuesday; and thanked them before she went over to where her mother was waiting where her measuring chart was. She was tempted to look at the other marks from when she was growing up but stepped back against the wall, standing as straight as she could.

"You're growing by leaps and bounds," Beckett said with a smile when her daughter stepped away from the wall. "As your grandmama used to say."

"Four inches?" Julia guessed.

"Three and a quarter," Castle said as he had gone over to them to watch them. 'That's still a good amount; you're going to be very tall when you get older."

"I hope so," Julia said, looking at her mother.

"I'm sure you will be," Martha said.

Julia smiled widely at her grandmother and she took her mother's hand before she walked with her over to the hall so they could go down the stairs. It was the twenty-first of March and they were celebrating her eleventh birthday though the party her parents were throwing for her wasn't until after lunch as her father had said. She was excited, since she knew for sure then it was going to be Harry Potter themed, but tried her best to focus on the moment as they gathered around the table since breakfast was ready.

"What will you do after we eat?" Castle asked the girl.

Thinking for a moment Julia said, "I want to go out riding with Mari and can we go to the library?"

"You can," Beckett said as Castle glanced at her. "Just make sure you have your phone."

"I will," Julia said. "Can I wear my sweater out?"

"Of course," Martha said, smiling when her son and daughter in law looked at her. "If I just made them for this party I would have kept the costume under lock and key."

"How did you have the time?" Julia asked before her father suddenly got up.

"I forgot our drinks," Castle said, coming back.

"Those were his idea," Beckett said wryly as he was setting some goblets down in front of the girls.

"They're just for today," Castle said. "Are they close?"

"Yes… pumpkin juice?" Julia exclaimed as she asked as well.

"Happy Birthday," Castle replied, raising and lowering his eyebrows. He laughed as she hugged him with one arm and said, "Thank your mom after we eat too, she thought of it, I just ordered it."

"Thanks," Julia said, beaming across the table at her mother.

"There's more for the party," Beckett said.

"Mom?" Julia asked. "Could me and Mari go get something for lunch together?"

"I think so," Beckett said. "But where would you want to go?"

"The hot dog place?" Julia said hopefully.

"Yes, that's fine," Beckett said with a slight smile. "However," she added as Julia was beaming for a second time. "You need to check and see if Mari's parents say if it's okay for her to go too. Or else you can just come home."

"Alright," Julia said, trying not to finish her oatmeal too fast. When she finally had emptied the bowl, she shot up to go when her father took it from her and she said, "Thanks!" She went to her mother, hugging her and giving her a smacking kiss on the cheek before thanking her as well.

"Be careful sweetie," Beckett called to her daughter before she stood up.

"I've got this love," Castle told his wife. "We do," he added as his father in law was getting Eliza's bowl as well.

Nodding Beckett went over to the end of the stairs and looked up before she turned her head to her stepdaughter saying, "I'm just making sure."

"Do you want me to go up to watch her?" Alexis asked.

"No," Beckett said, shaking her head. "She's eleven now… she'll be fine. I just worry she'll be too exuberant in running."

"She didn't even seem to notice she was the only one still in her pajamas," Louis said in amusement as he joined them.

"Are you sure it's alright for her to go that far on her own Kate?" Martha asked as she walked to them with Eliza, holding her hand.

"She's done it before," Beckett said. "With Peter and Dawn."

"Do you think Mari's parents will allow her to go?" Martha then said.

"Yes," Beckett replied. "They know what day it is, and that Julia's been there."

"So she'll have fun," Louis said.

"What about me Mommy?" Eliza asked as she went over to her.

Putting her arm around her daughter Beckett said, "Do you want to go too?"

Eliza shook her head no but before she could say anything Julia was at the top of the stairs and laughing at all of them.

"Were you waiting here?" the girl asked as she came down.

"I was listening to see if you were alright running around," Beckett said. She looked at everyone else and said, "I guess they just wanted to keep me company."

"Okay," Julia said with a smile. "I'm gonna go now to Mari's." She took her phone out of her pocket and showed it to them telling them, "I'll call when we get to the library and then the hot dog place if we can go."

"Wear your helmet," Castle commented as the girl was hugging everyone else.

"I will Dad," Julia said, embracing him. "Don't go out to follow and make sure."

"I won't," Castle said with a laugh.

"Have fun sweetie," Beckett said when Julia came to her next. "And remember to watch the time."

"I know, I'll be back in time for my party," the girl replied with a smile. She hugged her mother tightly before saying, "I'm really excited."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said. "And I'm glad you are." She leaned down the best she could to share a kiss with her daughter and then let her go, walking with Castle and Eliza after her to the garage.

"The gate's open Julia," Castle told her once he saw that it was.

"Thanks Dad, bye," the girl called as she had on her helmet and was on her bike. Julia pedaled down the driveway and was careful with the gravel until she was out almost on the sidewalk. She turned and waved to her family before turning back quickly and then rode down the sidewalk to the Foster home before she stopped and got off her bike, walking it down to the front door.

"Happy Birthday again!" Mari cried as she flung open the door before her friend could knock on it.

Laughing softly Julia hugged Mari back with one arm before she told her, "Let me put my kickstand down."

"Oh, look at your sweater," Mari said happily as she touched the grey sweater that looked like the one for Ravenclaw in the movies. "Did you get a tie?"

"Yep," Julia replied. "And a skirt and knee highs too. Oh and shoes."

"You have your Halloween costume," Mari said with a giggle.

"Yeah, are you ready?" Julia asked her.

"Yep… is that your dad?" Mari asked as she noticed someone running down the sidewalk.

"Dad your knee!" Julia said worriedly as she watched him approaching them.

"I'm fine," Castle said.

"What did she forget?" David asked, smiling at Julia when the girl turned to where he was standing with his wife and youngest daughter in surprise as they'd been there behind Mari for some time.

"I forgot," Castle said, a little out of breath. "And I forgot to give you money for lunch sweetheart."

"Oh, is it okay if we ride to that hot dog place?" Julia asked Mari's parents.

"That would be fine," Rebecca answered. "Do you have your phone?"

"I do," Julia said with a nod. "Do you want me to call you when we're there?"

"You can text me," Rebecca replied. "Are you still going to the library?"

"Yep," Julia said, smiling at Mari as she was looking at her questioningly. "But we might just ride around."

"You're thinking of going somewhere else, aren't you?" Castle asked as he studied his daughter.

"I wanted to go to the bookstore maybe," Julia replied. "But I was gonna ask," she said firmly.

"Once you were at lunch?" Castle guessed.

"You can go," David said. When his friend looked at him he said, "I know you have to ask Kate but really it's not that far from where they'll be having lunch."

"I'll tell your mom," Castle said to Julia as she looked at him. "But you have my permission to go. Is your volume up on your ringtone?"

"Yep," Julia said. "If she says no you'll call?"

"Right away," Castle replied.

"I'll stop and answer," Julia said. She hugged her father tightly when he was doing that do her and she told him, "Tell her to rest."  
"I will," Castle said laughingly. "See you guys later," he said to the Fosters.

"You two better get going," Rebecca said, handing her daughter her helmet. "And no racing in the street."

"We won't," Mari said as she was putting it on. "Bye Mommy, Daddy, Dani see you after the bookstore!" She got her bike; that had been locked next to the front door; and walked it with Julia up to the sidewalk. They got on and then rode down until they got into the street before she said, "You're two years older than me for sure now."

Laughing; as she'd been expecting her friend to say that on the seventeenth; Julia told her, "You'll be ten really soon."

"How do you feel?" Mari asked as they stopped to walk their bikes across a street.

"Taller," Julia said.

"You got taller?" Mari replied. When her friend nodded she smiled and then told her, "Good that you did."

"I know," Julia said before they concentrated on going the rest of the way to the library which was up ahead. They set their bikes and locked them before she took the books she needed to bring back telling her friend, "I got some from my parents too."

"Costumes?" Mari asked, taking the biggest book from her stack.

"My mom wanted to look at it; at the twenties clothes," Julia explained as they stopped at the front door. "My dad too, they're trying to see more clothes for him."

"Doesn't your gram know what a suit looks like then?" Mari asked.

"Yeah but she wanted to make sure; so does my dad," Julia said. "Hey, you should look at this book. It's so cool."

"Think I can check it out?" Mari asked.

"Let's ask Mrs. Bailey," Julia said before they walked inside together to the head librarian who was at the front desk. After getting the book back for Mari to check out when they were finished they went over to the young adult books where they split up.

After picking out one more book Mari hurried to her friend and whispered, "I don't want to get anymore," as Julia was looking at her in surprise.

"Why?" the girl whispered.

"'Cause I need to read the costume… clothes book," Mari said with a smile.

"Oh, well I'm gonna get these ones," Julia said. She looked at her watch and said, "It's… only ten twenty-five."

"Oh… we're going to the bookstore now right?" Mari reminded her.

"We could go to the toy store too," Julia said eagerly.

"I have my money," Mari whispered. She frowned and said, "But we gotta ask our moms about the toy store."

"And dads," Julia said. She sighed and told her, "Let's go outside to do that." When Mari nodded eagerly she went with her to the front desk so they could check out their books. As they were leaving she asked, "What did you get?"

Julia was going to answer and show her one of her books when she heard a car slowing down next to them. "It's Brad," she said with a smile as they turned to the car and saw it was a black Challenger. She hurried over to it and said, "Hi Chief."

"Hey Julia," Brad with a smile. "Mari. Happy Birthday."

"Thanks," Julia said as Mari waved next to her. "Our parents know we're here."

"I called them when Officer Wade let me know you two were locking your bikes," Brad said. "You're very lucky."

"Yeah, we know," Mari said quickly.

"We're being careful," Julia said. "Our helmets are with our bikes over there."

"Good, I just wanted to check on you and tell you I'll be with Eve and Jake later at your house," Brad told Julia. "Are you heading back home?" He was startled when the two looked at each other and with a smile asked, "You're not going to run off are you?"

"No, we want to go downtown and go to a couple stores but we need to ask our parents' permission for the other ones," Julia explained.

"Why don't I call them and I can give you a ride?" Brad asked them.

"You don't have to work?" Mari asked slowly.

"I don't have anything at the moment," Brad said. "And all my patrol officers are on patrol." He grabbed his phone and dialed Castle's number saying once he answered, "Hey Rick I'm with your daughter and Mari."

"You're not arresting them, are you?" Castle asked immediately.

Laughing for a moment Brad then said, "I'm not, I saw them coming out of the library and Julia wanted to ask you something."

"Go ahead Julia," Beckett then said on the other end.

"Hey Mom, is it okay if I go with Mari to the toy store and the bookstore? We finished with the library already," Julia said.

"I think so," Beckett said slowly.

"I offered to take them in my car Kate," Brad told her.

"With their bikes?" Castle asked.

"Of course, not the first time I've taken… oh wait, that was my old squad car," Brad said.

"Well if you don't mind going in the car," Beckett told her daughter.

"No! That would be so cool," Julia said eagerly.

"Okay, better call David and Rebecca and see what they think," Beckett said laughingly. "Text me when you get to the first store."

"I will, thanks so much Mom, Dad," Julia told them quickly.

Brad then dialed the Foster's number, getting permission for Mari to go as well before he got out of his car. "So-" he began to say when his radio crackled.

"Is that someone calling you?" Mari asked worriedly.

"No, no," Brad said reassuringly. "It's just dispatch and…" he paused, listening to the radio for a moment. "It's Officer Kirby; he's issuing a citation for jaywalking."

"Is that when you walk across the middle of the street?" Julia asked.

"Exactly. What have you two been doing when you needed to cross the street?" Brad asked.

Smiling Julia said, "We walked our bikes in the crosswalk. My mom used to be a detective; she taught me."

"Me too, my parents said she should," Mari said with a nod.

Brad laughed and said, "I'm not surprised." He loaded their bikes into his trunk and secured the cover before he opened the backdoor saying, "If this was a regular squad car I'd hesitate doing this but it's not too bad back here."

Julia got in first and looked around in awe, studying everything in the front of the car before she gasped and then gulped, clutching Mari's hand.

"What?" she asked in confusion. She followed her friend's gaze and Mari soon spotted what she'd seen.

"What's wrong?" Brad asked as he got into the driver's seat. He looked at what they were staring at and said, "That's locked in there," since they'd spotted his rifle.

"Oh… it's real?" Julia managed to whisper.

"It is," Brad said. "But like I said, it's locked so don't worry about it."

Julia squeezed her friend's hand as they drove away from the library and she said, "Thanks for this."

"You're welcome," Brad replied with a smile. "And you know your parents have been here many times."

"I know, but I never was before," Julia said. "It's cool… except for that."

"H-have you ever used it?" Mari stammered.

"No, so I'm happy about that," Brad said.

"How's Lily?" Julia then asked.

"She's good, you'll see her tonight," Brad replied. "Or this afternoon, sorry. And I hate to cut this short but we're here."

"Thanks Brad," Julia and Lily said at the same time as they got out.

"You're welcome," Brad told them after he'd gotten them their bikes. "Be careful especially when you head home."

"We will," Julia said. She and Mari thanked him again before they went quickly down to the toy store first, locking up their bikes against a post there before they slipped into the store and paused to get used to the light inside before her friend was taking her hand to ask her something.

"What do we do with our books?" Mari said.

"Oh… I guess we have to carry them in," Julia said after looking at the baskets on their bikes. "We should have brought a bag."

"Yeah," Mari said before they went back outside to take them out.

"Hello Julia, Mari," the cashier said standing at the register. "I was going to say that before when you ducked back out."

"Sorry Mr. Matchko," the girls said at the same time.

"How are you both today?" the man asked, walking around to them.

"We're good. Oh… I don't know if we have enough money," Julia said shyly as he held out a bag to them both.

"That's alright, I have a ton of these so it's no problem," Matchko replied. "Have fun looking around."

Julia and Mari thanked the man before they went further into the store together to where the kits to make things were.

"I feel like I should buy something," Julia whispered to her friend. When Mari nodded she said, "Daddy gave me extra money; more than we need for lunch so I could."

"Yeah, what though?" Mari asked.

"I don't know, I better look so we won't be late for lunch," Julia said. She smiled when her friend nodded, and they went to the kits before they stopped at one at the same time.

"You like this one too?" Mari asked with a smile as they looked at one another.

"Yeah, I did that before in San Diego," Julia replied as she took down the kit to pan for treasure. "Now I have my own panning… pan."

Mari laughed with her and then said, "And it's blue too." She was surprised when Julia took down a refill pack and said, "You have enough."

Smiling, as her friend had spoken in a high-pitched whisper, Julia then said, "Yeah, he gave me a bunch."

With a nod Mari followed her over to the register and watched her pay before they were saying goodbye to Matchko and left the store to head down to the bookstore nearby. "Are you gonna get a book?" she asked as they neared it.

"I don't know, I could get one for you," Julia said. "If you find one."

Blushing slightly Mari protested saying, "It's your birthday though."

"Not really, it's just the twenty-first," Julia said. "I'll get you one if you see one." She squeezed her friend's hand with a smile before they went into the store and straight to their books where they split up to look around. She soon found one from the Boxcar Children series and when she went back to her friend she wasn't surprised to see that she had a book as well. "You found something," she said with a smile.

"Yeah," Mari said slowly. When her friend took it to hold with her own book she wanted to protest but when Julia beamed even wider at her she just sighed and went with her over to the picture books and she asked, "Are you getting one of these?"

"For my sister… I guess I should get something for Eliza too," Julia replied.

"Do you have enough for that?" Mari asked in surprise.

Nodding Julia whispered, "My dad was really, really nice."

"I guess," Mari said with a nod, whispering as well. She watched Julia pick out a picture book before they went to slightly older kids' books for Eliza and when she turned to her she said, "They're good books."

"I hope so," Julia said.

They went up to the front and once they were outside after Julia paid Mari threw her arms around her friend. "Thanks so much!" she cried out.

"You're welcome," Julia said with a laugh. "I hope you'll let me borrow it eventually," she said.

"Of course," Mari said. She realized she was still holding Julia so she gave her a quick squeeze before letting her go. "Um… should we get lunch?" she asked shyly.

"Yeah," Julia said, smiling at her friend before they turned to their bikes and took them off the post before she set her full bag into her basket. "I have to remember to say thank you to my dad."

"I should too later," Mari said.

"Want to come over after we finish with lunch?" Julia asked her.

"Sure," Mari said. "We can call my parents."

"Of course," Julia said once they had their helmets on. They got onto their bikes and she rode out to the hot dog place with Mari following. When they got there she was relieved to see it wasn't too crowded and after they'd locked up their bikes she texted her mother.

"You're not gonna call?" Mari asked.

"I'm asking if she wants me to," Julia told her with a smile. She looked down at the return text she got before she then said, "I don't need to, she knows we're okay because Officer… Hutchinson drove by just now and called Brad and he texted my dad."

Laughing Mari said, "I guess it's a good thing your parents are friends with everyone at the police station."

"I guess so," Julia replied laughingly, texting her friend's parents before they went to order. "Hello Mrs. Kokinos."

"Hello Julia," the woman said looking through the window at her. "How are you?"

"Good we would like two of your gyros dogs and some fries," Julia told her before she paid. She and Mari stayed near the pickup window, watching the cars go by until their order was ready, and she said, " _Efcharistó_ Mrs. Kokinos."

"You're welcome, enjoy you kids," the woman said with a smile at the girl's Greek as they went over to the outdoor seating on the side of the restaurant together.

"I'm so hungry now," Mari said eagerly as she picked up her hot dog.

"Me too," Julia replied with a smile. "We went riding a lot."

"Yeah, so what're we gonna do at your party?" Mari said. She was startled when her friend suddenly jumped and asked, "What's wrong?"

"My phone, I think I got a text…" Julia replied before she looked at it. "I did, my mom says-"

When the girl laughed Mari asked, "What's so funny?"

"Mom said she called your parents and when we're finished here you can come straight to my house," Julia said before she and her friend were laughing heavily together.

When they'd calmed down Mari looked over at the window to order and said, "Look, Officer Hutchinson is here." She frowned a little at the woman who was hugging the officer and said questioningly to Julia, "She's off and that's her friend."

Shaking her head Julia said, "She's probably off for lunch and that's her wife."

"Hello Julia," the officer said as she came over to them with her wife behind her. "How are you?"

"I'm good Officer," the girl said with a smile. "You know my friend Mari."

"I do, I spotted you riding over here for lunch and decided to let your mother know you two were here," Hutchinson said before her wife was walking over to get their food. She set her radio; that burst to life then; a little lower and told them, "That was the chief, getting someone for a stolen car."

"We were just in his car," Mari said, her eyes wide.

"He'll have someone come to help him take them away," Hutchinson said.

"Does that mean you have to go?" Julia asked.

"No," the officer replied, smiling at both girls. "I'm sure he'll get someone else who's not out at lunch." Her wife sat down next to her and she said, "Mari you haven't met my wife, this is Allison."

"Just that?" the little girl asked a little shyly as she shook the woman's hand quickly.

"We have the same last name," the woman replied. When she saw Mari looked startled she smiled a bit and said, "I'm from Scotland."

"Oh… cool," Mari said a little shyly, unsure of what else she should say.

"She owns the clothes store our moms go to downtown," Julia told her friend. She then said to the two women, "Are you going back there?"

"I am, I need to get back to work," Allison replied. "How's your mother doing?"

"Good, she's getting bigger still," Julia said with a smile.

"Glad to hear that," Allison said. "Are you excited for your sibling?"

"Very," Julia said with a wide smile. She and Mari grabbed for the last fry at the same time and then began to laugh together when they realized what they were doing. "Go ahead," she told her friend.

Shaking her head Mari said, "You got it and it's your birthday."

"Not really," Julia said with a smile. "It was on Tuesday."

"Happy Birthday still," Hutchinson said.

"Thanks," Julia said after Allison had told her the same. She gave the fry to Mari and she said, "We better go. Thanks for eating with us."

"Not a problem," Hutchinson replied. "Be careful going back."

"We will," Julia replied with Mari. They waved to the two women and went back to their bikes.

"They were nice," Mari eventually said as they were going down the sidewalk.

"Yeah, they're going to have a baby," Julia replied with a smile. When she saw her friend looked surprised she told her, "Allison is but it's really early."

"Oh, I was wondering why she wasn't showing," Mari said. She smiled and said, "So that baby will know everyone at the station too."

"I think so," Julia said before they laughed together and then continued to her house, remembering the party still to come and feeling a thrill of excitement at the thought.

* * *

"Love?"

"Yes Rick?" Beckett asked as she looked over at him from where she was setting something down on the table they'd brought into their family room.

"I was thinking about something," Castle told her.

"And?" Beckett asked when he didn't continue. She smiled as he was placing his hands on either side of her abdomen before he seemed to shake himself and speak.

"Your pendant," Castle told her.

"What about it?" Beckett asked.

"This baby isn't going to be a March baby too," Castle replied.

"I don't know if you can really put an emerald with an aquamarine," Beckett told him.

"N-" Castle began to say before he cut himself off abruptly and then nodded.

"Are we ready?" Beckett asked. When her husband nodded again she smiled and brushed her lips to his before saying, "Then why aren't you stopping?"

"Okay, so maybe I'm not finished," Castle said. "But I'm close."

"Good," Beckett said.

Castle looked around the room and then nodded saying, "I hope she'll enjoy this."

Beckett brushed her lips to his cheek and told him, "She'll remember it too."

Castle smiled and shared a quick kiss with her before he was saying, "But where is she? And Mari?"

About to speak Beckett paused when the chime that let them know the gate was being opened rang and she smiled at her husband saying, "They're here. I bet you they walked their bikes after they rode from the place."

"I know I just thought she was going out to…" Castle started to say before he trailed off.

"You gave her money, didn't you?" Beckett asked him.

"Yes," Castle said simply. When his wife laughed softly he was startled but by then they were at the door so he opened it and they watched Julia and Mari walking up the driveway; the latter not having her bike. "Have a good time?" he asked.

"Thank you, Dad!" "Thank you, Rick!" the two said nearly together except for the last word.

"You're welcome," Castle replied. "I'm assuming you used that extra money?"

"Hopefully not for dessert," Beckett replied as the two went to the garage which was open. She smiled at the quick shakes of their heads and said to her husband, "I forgot she needed to get her uniform too."

"Me too," Castle said with a nod before he closed the door and they went over to the door to the garage to meet the two who were coming up to them.

"What did you two get?" Beckett asked them as her husband quickly got the bag that Julia was doing her best to carry.

"This is heavy, what did you get?" Castle asked in surprise. "And sorry to repeat but I'm holding this, so I can tell there's a lot."

Julia smiled and then said, "You can look."

"Okay," Castle said. "We'll look…"

"Over by the kitchen," Beckett said with a smile as her husband was looking at her to answer.

Trying not to Julia couldn't help it and she looked at the family room seeing there were some decorations there. She felt Mari grab her hand and squeeze it tightly, making her smile as she'd been able to tell that it was supposed to look like a classroom. She thought she'd seen some cauldrons but wasn't sure. She then turned her attention to the kitchen table they were reaching, and she asked, "Where's Lizzy?"

"She went with your grandparents, sister and Louis down the beach with all the dogs," Beckett answered. "To calm them down before the party." She paused and then said with a smile, "Did you check out the book Mari?"

"Yeah," the little girl replied as Castle took out the book of historical dress from the library. "Julia said it was cool."

"It is," Castle commented as he finished taking out the books the two had gotten. "Now I want to ask about these."

"The picture book's for the baby and the other's for Lizzy," Julia replied. She then became thoughtful and asked, "Think 'lexis will think of a name for the baby? A special name that we use I mean."

"She might," Beckett replied as she sat down then. "And it was sweet of you to get the books for your little sisters."

"To be fair," Julia replied, wrapping her arm around her mother.

"Ah, we can pretend to be in the Old West," Castle said as he took out the kit to pan for gold. "Nice choice. And refill, sweet."

Julia giggled at his tone before she said, "It was a lot of fun."

"It looks like it was, and you saw a lot of people today too," Beckett told her.

"Not that many," Julia began.

"And we got to go in Brad's car," Mari said excitedly. "But it was a little scary to see that gun."

"I forgot about the rifle," Beckett said to her husband.

"Me too," Castle said with a nod. "But it was locked so you two were okay."

"Brad told us," Julia said. "But did you ever use that Mom?"

"No," Beckett said, shaking her head. "I have my own weapon so I haven't needed it."

Before any of them could say anything, they heard a door opening and once the others came back inside they reunited and everyone was almost talking at once before they calmed down.

"Okay, we're getting extremely close to the guests starting to arrive," Castle said once it was quiet enough for him to speak. "And that means some of you need to change for the party."

"Did you get a costume too?" Julia asked her sister as they went over to the stairs with Mari and their big sister.

"Yep, are we gonna wear them for Halloween?" Eliza asked.

"Yes," Julia replied.

"I don't know what we're going to do for Halloween yet," Alexis said in amusement as her sisters looked back at her. "You two are okay getting ready on your own?" she then asked as they'd reached Julia's room. When the two nodded she said, "We'll see you guys once you're ready," before she took Eliza down the hall to her room so she could help her change.

"Are you okay?" Julia asked Mari when they were nearly ready.

"Yep, but what about my tie?" the little girl said.

"My… 'lexis will help us," Julia replied with a smile as there was a knock on the door. "Ready?" she asked. When her friend nodded she hurried over to open the door and said in surprise, "Mom!"

"Hello, I remembered you two have ties so I better help you," Beckett said.

"Come in," Julia said with a smile. "Thanks for helping us but then you have to go back down the stairs."

"I'll be fine," Beckett assured her before she went to bed and sat down.

"Hey Molly," Julia said to the dog with a smile. "Is Lizzy's door closed?"

"No, she just wanted to see you," Beckett said as she was putting Mari's tie on for her.

"Did Ava ever get sorted?" the little girl asked while she was waiting for Beckett to finish.

"Yeah, she got Hufflepuff," Julia answered. "Dawn's a Gryffindor and Peter got Slytherin," she said to her mother.

"So all the houses will be there," Beckett replied. "And don't forget Eve and Jake of course."

"Yep," Julia said, smiling at Mari as she went over to her mother to get her tie set. "They redid their sorting 'cause they lost their accounts?" When her mother nodded to that she then smiled and said, "They got different houses, Jake got Ravenclaw and Eve got Gryffindor."

"Interesting," Beckett said with a smile as the two had both been in Hufflepuff. "Do they mind?"

"Nope," Julia said, stepping away and turning to her mother with a smile. "Thanks Mommy."

"You're welcome," Beckett said as she hugged her daughter. "Let's go ahead and wait for the other students to come so you can go to Diagon Alley."

"Really?" Julia asked.

"Really," Castle said as he came up to the doorway. "You have to get your supplies of course."

"Cool!" Julia said eagerly. She turned to Mari to take her hand and they hurried downstairs together to the kitchen where her grandparents were. "Hi Grandpapa, Gram," she told them. "How do I look?" she asked as she spun a little in her costume. Her grandmother had made her a full ensemble that resembled the uniforms for the school from the movies, her colors blue and silver with a Ravenclaw crest on it.

"You look perfect," Martha said with a smile.

"Ready to go on the Express," Jim said with a smile as she went over to him.

"And you look perfect as well Mari," Martha was telling the little girl. "You look ready for potions or…"

"Charms-" Julia said when her grandmother looked at her.

"Or Transfiguration," Mari said, laughing with her friend.

Julia suddenly stopped and gasped before she said to Mari's worried look, "We forgot our wands."

"You need to get your wands still," Castle said as he and Beckett came down the hall with Eliza who was dressed in a uniform and her Ravenclaw robes as well. He was going to speak when he heard the chime and said, "The guests are here," before he and his wife followed the three girls over to the door to open it to whoever had arrived first.

"Hello again Julia," Rebecca said as she was first to them with her daughter walking next to her. "Mari you look great," she said with a smile as she grabbed her daughter when she ran to her.

"Thank you," Julia said when she saw that David was giving her father a present.

"You're welcome," the mayor replied with a smile. He was about to walk over to the porch when he heard the intercom next to the door. "I bet that's Brad and Lily."

Hurrying back into the house Castle pressed the intercom saying, "Who is it?"

"Me Rick, let me in," Brad replied. "Oh and all the other guests."

Pressing the button for the door Castle went outside saying, "Everyone's here I think."

Beckett looked over at the door before she saw that her husband was right, and the Davises were followed by three kids. She shared a smile with him before she went over to the others and they were greeting each other; all five kids dressed like Julia, Eliza and Mari were. When they were able to go inside the house it became noisy as the dogs began to bark and jump around before she watched Castle getting everyone's attention.

"Everyone who got their Hogwarts letter follow me," he told the kids. "You need to get your supplies, does everyone have their letters?"

"I do," Eve said first, the other kids saying the same.

"Then you should head over to Diagon Alley," Beckett told them. She nodded down the hall and said, "There are two rooms where you need to pick up everything."

"Where do we start?" Peter asked.

"This way," Castle said. "I may be tall but I'm not Hagrid by the way." He wasn't surprised when the kids all laughed, and he took them to his and Beckett's office before he said, "Welcome to Ollivander's, your wands have already chosen you so just pick them up."

Hurrying to where she saw her name written down under her wand Julia took it in her hand saying, "Now what?"

"One last stop and then you'll be able to go to Hogwarts," Beckett said. She followed the others to the living room which her husband had set up to be the Apothecary from the books though there were just small vials filled with different colored waters and jars that the kids could pick up.

"Nice," Lily said, smiling at her friend as she stood with her. "You went all out with this."

"This was mostly Rick's idea," Beckett replied with a smile. "I just helped him with planning."

"And you did great," Lily said. "How're you doing?" she asked her.

"Good, you?" Beckett asked.

"Glad I'm not that big just yet," Lily said as she curved her hand over her six-and-a-half-month stomach. She smiled as Beckett did the same with hers; though it was seven and a half months; and she asked, "Kicking?"

"Moving," Beckett replied before Castle; with David's help as he'd gone in with him; got the kids back out and they went to the family room. "You guys can attend your classes now," she said as she led the way. "Since you're all sorted."

"What now?" Ava; a new student in Julia's class who'd become a swift friend; asked shyly.

"You can pick your class," Castle answered. "We have Potions of course, then Charms and Care of Magical Creatures."

Looking at her friends and sister Julia said, "Let's do it in that order," to her parents.

"Alright, Potions it is," Castle said. "Now we're going to see what your vials you picked up from the Apothecary can make."

"Set them out next to your cauldrons," Beckett then said. "Go in groups of two please."

Going with Julia, Mari whispered, "What are we gonna make?"

Shrugging Julia looked at the four vials they had, and she raised her hand asking, "Do we put them all in?"

"You have to use your text books to mix them exactly right," Beckett said, passing out the 'books' she and Castle had made for the party. They were thin with only two pages and after every pair had one she smiled at them saying, "Now follow the instructions in your book and pay close attention to the colors."

Sitting with his wife Castle thought he could take the moment to relax and hold her hand when Eliza was calling out to him, working with Jacob. "I'll be back," he told his wife.

"Just stay and help," Beckett said with a smile.

"Is that it?" Julia asked Mari.

"Yeah, it says two teaspoons of the green gillyweed extract," the little girl replied. "So now we just wave our wands and say _Incendio_."

"Ready? Go," Julia said as they picked up their wands they'd set down. They said the 'spell' together and she then looked at her mother who was walking over to her.

"Hold on," Beckett said with a smile. "We'll tell you what to do next."

"Okay," Castle said, looking over everyone. "Now one of you needs to be brave; even if you aren't a Gryffindor; and reach into the bottom of the cauldron."

"I'll do it," Julia said as Mari looked at her. She wasn't surprised when her friend nodded rapidly, and she reached into the cauldron, laughing at the water. When she brought it back out with the object inside on the bottom she said, "It's a number."

"That'll be important after your classes," Castle said as he, Beckett, David and Rebecca gave the four kids with wet hands a towel. "Make sure you remember them."

"Now time for Charms," Beckett said. She waited for the cauldrons to be taken away before she said, "And for that you need your wands and you need to know how to say the spell that Hermione pronounced in the first book."

" _Wingardium Leviosa_ ," the eight kids said together. They cried out when some feathers rose in the air on the table and they laughed before playing with the feathers which the adults were controlling with thin fishing line. They didn't tire of that for a while and it wasn't until Castle and Beckett got their attention that they stopped playing with the feathers and turned to the two to wait for what they would do for the next class.

"We forgot something," Castle said first. "You're all going to be getting house points."

"On those boards?" Dawn asked as there were four set up on one of the shelves surrounding the TV covered by a fake chalkboard.

"Yes," Beckett replied. "And since you all did very well with your potions ten points to every house."

"Next," Castle said as David was quickly erasing and then writing down the new points. "Is your Care of Magical Creatures class."

Julia looked over at Rebecca who was walking in with a fake potted tree and she gasped, "Are those bowtruckles?"

"They are, five points to Ravenclaw," Rebecca said with a smile. "If I can give away points."

"You can," Beckett said slightly laughingly. "What you need to do here," she told the kids who'd gone over to the tree on the table to look at the toy animals. "Is find the one with the gold ribbon on it."

"That's easy," Peter said.

"I wouldn't be so sure," Jim commented. "There's more than what you see."

"It is a big tree," Eve said.

"And I didn't finish telling you the rules," Beckett said with a smile. "You only have one turn; you'll reach in and then see what you get."

"The birthday girl is first," Castle said, standing next to his wife and taking her hand. "Go ahead Julia and don't take too long."

Giving her father a mock glare Julia hurried to the tree and reached into the leaves, feeling the plastic of the toy before she pulled it out. "Purple," she said with a smile.

"Good try, now Eliza…" Castle said. "We'll go youngest to oldest," he told the others.

Stepping up to the tree the little girl was picked up by her father so she could reach, and she dug in deep into the branches and leaves before she pulled out one of the toys. "Silver," she giggled.

Watching the kids going Alexis had to wonder how many of the toys her father had bought as it went all the way to Eve without any of them getting one with a gold ribbon. "Are you sure there's even one in there?" she asked her father teasingly.

"Oh, there is," Castle said. "But we need to go all over again."

With some laughter Julia went first before her sister did and then Mari before Ava went and pulled out a toy with a gold ribbon. "You won!" she said to her new friend happily, clapping her hands and hugging her tightly.

"Thanks," the girl said, blushing a little.

"The rest of you can grab the other bowtruckles in there," Beckett said. She had to pause then as the kids were gasping as Castle was giving the prize to the girl. It was a stuffed pink pigmy puff and she said, "And ten points to Hufflepuff."

"Thank you," Ava said seriously as she hugged the toy to her tightly.

"Alright next we need to go outside," Castle said. "Because we're losing daylight." When his wife nodded he waited for her to stand before saying, "And we need your help Alexis, Louis."

"We said we would," the young woman replied with an exaggerated sigh.

When everyone was out in the backyard Castle said, "You brought your broomsticks already, so this'll be easy."

"Are we playing Quidditch?" Julia asked eagerly as her father handed the broomsticks out as they had names on them.

"You are," Castle replied. "But we're a little uneven with the houses so you two need to pick who to go to."

"I'll join you Peter," Louis said, going to the boy.

"And I'll go with you too Ava," Alexis said.

"To play this game," Beckett said when the others turned to her husband. "You're going to be running in races with a Quaffle under your arm. Whoever wins the race goes to the next round and we'll keep going until there's one winner." She smiled as the kids looked eager and watched her husband have four of them line up together before he told Julia, Peter, Ava and Dawn to go.

"You're not worried someone might get hurt?" Martha asked her daughter in law.

"No but Rick might," Beckett said with a frown as she noticed quickly that her husband was running alongside the kids. When they had finished she called, "Rick!"

"What?" Castle asked, looking down the yard at her.

Though she wanted to tell him not to run he was walking back with the others and Beckett waited until he was near telling him, "What if you'd fallen? And your knee?" keeping her voice low so the others wouldn't hear them.

Castle didn't say anything as his wife's voice had gone slightly higher towards the end, just looked at her before she breathed out. "I won't run again but I forgot to be at the other side so I could see who won," he explained as he took her hand and squeezed it. "I'll walk before I'll have someone else tell them to go."

"Sorry," Beckett said.

"Hormones," Castle replied with a shrug. "But I'm glad you were concerned."

Beckett smiled and though the guests were within sight of them she leaned over and brushed her lips to his. "We better get back to the races so they can get to their games inside again," she told him as she could tell that he was debating kissing her.

"You're absolutely right," Castle said to distract himself. He went with her to the kids and got the rest ready for the next race. He did his best to focus on that though it was difficult as he couldn't seem to keep his eyes from his wife for long. He finally reminded himself about their daughter's celebration and was able to turn his attention fully to the very last race to see who would win the points for their house.


	33. Happy Birthday To You (Part 2)

"What are the points now Mommy?" Eliza asked when she had gone to her after their relay game.

"Well after that one Gryffindor has thirty-five points," Beckett said as she wrapped her arm around her youngest. "Hufflepuff thirty, Ravenclaw forty and Slytherin forty too."

"I'm lucky," Peter said with a smile as he'd won the last game to tie him with the Ravenclaws.

"I know," Julia giggled. "What're you gonna do with that?" she asked as he'd won a Golden Snitch toy.

"Play with it, put it somewhere where it can fly," Peter replied.

"One more game," Castle said, coming into the room. "With this one you guys need to use your copies of the Marauder's Map." He wasn't surprised when they gasped, and he said, "This'll be the last game so we'll see how the house points go afterwards."

"What do we do?" Eliza asked.

"Go two by two-" Castle started to say.

"But there's only one Slytherin and one Hufflepuff," Peter said in protest.

"The points will go to the houses of the pair who finds everything on the map," Castle said. "Whatever house they are," he said before he watched with little surprise as Peter went to Ava.

"Let's go," Julia said to Mari, taking her hand. She took her friend out to the hall as the others were passing by them and she read the map saying, "The first place we have to look is the Transfiguration classroom."

"We never went there," Mari pointed out.

"No but I think we have to go to the office again," Julia replied. She smiled and said, "I don't think it's Ollivander's anymore."

"This is going to take them some time," Castle said back in the family room as the kids separated.

"Are you using the whole house?" Lily asked.

"We are, luckily there are only four pairs, but we still had a lot of clues to write out," Castle replied.

"You did," Beckett told her husband.

"I did," Castle replied. "We'll eat after this and then have her open her gifts."

"Any more games?" Brad said.

"No, they can play after the cake," Beckett said.

"Is that one special too?" Rebecca asked.

"You'll see," Castle replied.

"They're not going to have any trouble with their clues are they Richard?" Martha asked her soon when they fell silent and heard some of the kids laughing.

"I made it easier but that's why I asked Alexis and Louis to follow," Castle said. "For now while we wait I guess I better get everything ready," he said to his wife.

"If you were serious about a House Cup I think you should," Beckett replied easily. She smiled when her husband kissed her cheek and she watch Brad and David get up with them to help.

Upstairs in her room Julia was saying to her friend as Mari grabbed the folded paper that had their next clue, "I guess Dad made sure I got this map."

"Yeah," Mari replied. "Are you gonna take the post it off and keep it?"

"Of course, it's a real one," Julia said. "I bet you'll have one too."

"That would be so cool," Mari said before she turned her attention to the paper. " _Here grab the book about my first journey, go over to the books and spin, you're nearly finished with your tourney_ -"

"I don't think my dad could get a good rhyme there," Julia said, interrupting Mari with a giggle.

"It still works," the little girl said with a smile before she read the last line. " _Find the snitch to see who wins_ …"

"He doesn't write poetry," Julia said, shaking her head and smiling still. "But that means we need to go to the library." She grabbed her copy of the first Harry Potter book and led her friend to the library where she saw some toy Golden Snitches, four in a row, and she grabbed one before she and Mari started to run together down the stairs to the family room.

"We got the first Snitch!" Mari cried as they went into the room.

"And everything we had to find!" Julia then said afterwards as she was holding all the items they'd been directed to.

"Congratulations," Castle said. "So that's ten points to Ravenclaw," he commented before he went to change the score.

"We're here!" Jacob said as he and Eliza entered next. "Got the Snitch and everything!"

"Another ten to Ravenclaw," Brad said with a smile as Eliza was jumping up and down with the toy in her hand.

When Ava and Peter came inside Castle gave them five points each for their house and for Eve and Dawn another ten for Gryffindor. "Okay so in fourth," he said when the kids were all looking at him. "Is Hufflepuff with thirty-five." He applauded with the others as Ava blushed and then said, "In third is Gryffindor with forty. In second is Slytherin with forty-five. And our House Cup winners are Ravenclaw with sixty."

Beckett was relieved when the kids all congratulated each other and once they'd done that she said, "You need to get your prizes."

"Over here," Castle said, pointing out the bags on the table. Two were supposed to look like the 'moleskin' pouch that Harry had in the books for Jacob and Peter while for the girls the bags were made to look like the one Hermione had in the last book and movie. He and Beckett had put the party favors into them along with one model of a niffler for them to keep.

"Dad?" Julia said after she and her friends had looked to see what they'd gotten.

"Yeah?" Castle asked, sitting on the chair next to his wife.

"The rhymes were really bad," Julia said honestly but carefully as she felt bad telling her father that.

Laughing Castle replied, "They kind of were supposed to be."

With a smile Julia wrapped her arms around her father's neck and told him, "Thank you Dad, that was so fun."

"You're welcome," Castle said, embracing her back. When she pulled away he said, "But two things. First thank your mother because if she hadn't said we could do all this the party would have been a lot simpler. And second it's not over yet."

Julia laughed and then wrapped her arms around her father as tightly as she could before she hurried over to her mother. "Thank you, Mom," she told her.

"You're very welcome but like your dad said we're not done yet," Beckett replied. "Did you like your party favors?"

"Yeah, I love the Ravenclaw paper," Julia replied with a smile. "And the candies were great too, I can't wait to see the card I got with my chocolate frog," she said eagerly.

"I'm not surprised," Beckett replied with a smile. "But wait until later."

"I will… now what?" Julia asked.

"Time to eat," Castle said, standing then. "Luckily we're in the Great Hall already so we just need to have the house elves get everything onto the table. The magic to get them to appear is a little wonky."

Beckett shook her head as the kids laughed before they went back to their party favors and her husband, Brad, David and her father left the room. She was going to speak to Lily and Rebecca when the latter got up and hurried out to follow them to help them. So she turned to Lily and Alexis and began talking with them before the others were coming back with the food as the kids stopped talking and watched the plates coming inside.

"They're gold and everything," Eve whispered.

"Not real," Julia said with a beaming smile at her parents as she knew they didn't like gold but were using it for the party.

"Wow… that looks like the food that was in the movie," Peter said.

"You're hungry?" Mari asked him.

"You aren't?" Peter shot back before they started to laugh together.

"Okay the start-of-term feast is ready," Castle said once the last plate was on the table. "Time to eat."

After everyone had gathered around the table they began to eat, the kids talking together about the games they'd played up until that point and the adults talking about Spring Break the next week.

"It should be interesting," Lily said, looking pointedly at her husband.

"I do have the week off, what?" Brad asked.

"I think she meant to register her shock that you took the time off," Castle said laughingly.

"I guess so," Brad said laughingly. "But all the houses we've got are together right?"

"Four in a row," Beckett answered.

"Skye couldn't take off?" Rebecca asked.

"She's still on her current case," Beckett said. "It's likely going to take her some time."

"I feel so sorry for Mary," David said. "Her wife gone for that long?"

"She's used to it," Castle said. "Luckily Skye has a good deal of time off."

"You guys don't mind Patrick and Trevor in the house you're in, right?" Beckett then asked the Fosters.

"Oh no," Rebecca said first. "Though I thought the parents were going to be coming."

"They're going on a trip the two got for them," Beckett said. "They're off to New Orleans."

"Why that city?" Martha asked.

"I think talking to Patrick and Trevor inspired them," Castle answered with a smile. "They should have fun."

"That was quite a feast," Jim said a little bit later as the meal was winding down.

"We did the best we could, luckily we've read the books," Beckett said, smiling at her husband as he stood to start clearing the table.

"Kate-" Castle started to say when she got up as well.

"I've been sitting for a while love," Beckett said simply, picking up some of the plates. She followed her husband to the kitchen and wasn't surprised to see the other parents bringing plates as well. "We'll get the gifts," she said, startled when Brad started to wash the plates and utensils at the sink. She let Castle take her hand and they walked to their office where their gifts for their daughter were hidden.

"I wonder if you're gonna have a special cake," Jacob said to Julia.

"I don't know, I might have cupcakes," the girl said with a shrug. "Who knows?" She then smiled and watched as her parents and grandparents came into the room wrapped packages in their arms, some of which she recognized as being from her friends they'd brought with them. "Am I opening those now?" Julia asked as the gifts went in front of her.

"Actually, we have the order wrong," Beckett said to her husband.

"Right, you guys can pl-" Castle started to say before the eight were shooting off their seats and going to where their play brooms were. "That worked out," he said to the others as they watched the kids tossing around the toy Snitches with Alexis and Louis.

"Surprising since they know there's a cake at some point," Brad said.

"I think they're trying to be patient," Beckett said slowly as she was watching her oldest and saw her soon looking over at her quickly. "We can't wait too long," she then directed to her husband.

"They'll be working through dinner," Jim said.

Beckett smiled; since her father was right; and she checked the time until she felt it had been long enough. "You can come and sit down at the table," she said, going to Julia and putting her hand on her shoulder.

Though she wanted to race over to her chair she'd been sitting at before Julia did her best to walk over to it before she sat down. She smiled at Mari who was next to her and waited for her parents to come back from the kitchen.

Carrying the cake carefully while they walked into the room Castle followed his wife as she began to sing _Happy Birthday_ and all the others joined in. Someone had turned off the lights while they were walking in, so he had to wonder how much of the cake Julia could see. But he focused more on getting the cake down on the table in front of her and stood back to finish with the others as Beckett was taking some pictures.

When the lights came on Julia gasped as she could see the cake and she couldn't say a word, only stare at it before she suddenly remembered the candles. She quickly blew them out after making a quick wish in her head and she then said, "Is that me?"

"Who else is it going to be?" Beckett asked with a smile as she took pictures of the cake. "So you like it," she said.

"I love it," Julia said, jumping up and going to her mother to hug her before she did the same with her father as she thanked them. Sitting back in front of the cake she looked at it closely before it could be cut though she knew there were pictures of it. The base was an opened book with _Happy 11th Birthday Julia_ in blue and silver fondant on the left side, a wand that looked like Hermione's at the top right and a Ravenclaw scarf with the crest on it directly in the middle draped over the side. On the bottom right, a figure in fondant was sitting on the edge of the book and she could tell that it was her, the girl having her hair and eyes, but what she loved the most was the fact it was wearing a Ravenclaw uniform and robes too. "I feel bad eating it," she said to her father as he began to cut the left side of the cake.

"Don't worry, you have pictures," Beckett said. She watched her husband cut the cake and was glad that Julia was gasping in joy at the inside of it as it came to view. She'd ordered the cake itself while her husband had worked with the baker for the design and she had chosen her daughter's favorite, chocolate with raspberry frosting. "Hopefully you'll like it."

After eating the first bite Julia smiled and nodded before she watched her friends and family eating their slices. She glanced at the figurine of herself and smiled saying, "It's so cute."

"We thought so too, Helen did a great job with it," Castle said as he studied it as well. He took the cake back after they'd all finished eating their slices and when he returned Julia was looking at a gift in front of her. "Start," he said quickly. "That way you can play afterwards."

Julia nodded and then began to unwrap her first gift, from Ava, before she went through the ones from her friends except for Mari, Eve and Jacob. From Ava she had received a kit to make friendship bracelets, promising to make one for her immediately. Dawn had given her a journal with the Ravenclaw crest on it and a plaid pattern behind it while Peter had given her a quill pen from the movies to go with it. "Thanks," she said to them with a smile.

"These two are from the families," Brad said as he saw the gift from him and his family was going to her next.

"Thanks," Julia said as she was tearing open the paper. When she took off the lid on the box she smiled seeing the different t-shirts that were there. "Thank you," she then said earnestly. "They look cool."

"I liked that one the best," Eve said, pointing to the grey shirt with all the house names on banners of the colors.

"Yeah, that's a good one," Julia said, nodding.

"And then there's the Ravenclaw one," Jacob said with a smile as she was taking out a dark blue one with the crest on it.

"I like this one," Julia said, holding up a shirt with Fawkes the phoenix on it. "I like them all."

"This one is from us," Mari said a little anxiously as she watched her friend take the gift from her and her family.

Julia smiled at her before she tore off the paper and revealed a large box inside before taking off the lid. She took out a long box and said, "This is cool! Mom-"

"We'll start putting it together tomorrow," Beckett said before she could finish.

With a smile at her mother Julia set the puzzle box of the house crests aside and then looked at what was underneath. "How cute!" she cried out in joy at the sight of the two figurines of cartoonish Hermione and Harry in their clothes from the Yule Ball inside.

"I thought you'd like them and now you can have Harry and Hermione going to the ball together," Mari said. She smiled when her friend nodded and then waited slightly nervously as her friend took those two small boxes out.

When she finally made out what was underneath the previous gifts Julia froze and then looked at her friend quickly.

When her friend looked at her with her mouth open Mari said, "Is it not good because-" before she was cut off by Julia throwing her arms around her. She laughed and then hugged her back before she pulled back and said, "Can you use it?"

Taking the messenger bag with the Ravenclaw crest on it out of the box Julia said, "I can and it's perfect." She hugged Mari again before she reluctantly set it aside and turned to the two last gifts. "I'm gonna guess those are from Harry Potter too?" she asked her parents as she knew the gifts were from them.

"Open this first one," Beckett said, nodding to the smaller box.

Julia did so, and she smiled at the sight of the blue Ravenclaw jersey shirt inside of it and she paused and then went back to the paper that had wrapped it. "From my sisters?" she asked.

"All three of them," Beckett said, Castle nodding once next to her. "And you should look at the shirt a little more closely."

Doing that then Julia said, "It's…" before she realized there was likely something on the back. "Oh," she said with a gasp. "My name!" she then cried as above the number 07 was _Julia C_.

"We had a hard time with that," Castle said as Julia was rushing to her mother. "Should we put just Julia, or J. Castle or your initials? But in the end, we all agreed that was the best way to go."

"Oh, thank you," Julia said, having hugged everyone in her family. She was going back to the table when she paused and went back to her mother setting her hand on her stomach saying loud enough, "Thank you too little sister, I'll wear that shirt the day you come home."

"She'll be happy to see that," Beckett said. "I'm fine," she quickly said as her husband put his hand on her shoulder as she'd become choked up. "Hormones," she told the others. "You too," she said to Lily as she saw her friend was teary eyed.

"Yeah, contagious," Lily said. "Julia hurry and open that next gift before we start bawling."

With a slight smile Julia sat down to open her last gift but that time she checked the tag before saying, "From everyone?"

"This is a family gift," Beckett said, nodding her head. She watched Julia tear off the paper before a heavy gasp escaped her daughter's lips. "We're hoping you'll play with us," she told her.

"I will," Julia couldn't help whisper, nodding her head. She was staring at her chess set that was themed to the Hogwarts houses and Harry Potter before she said, "Thank you," getting up to hug them all again. As she was doing that she told everyone, "This was the best birthday ever," smiling at her friends and family before she went back to the box so she could open it and look at all the pieces with her friends.

* * *

 _March 21st, 2020_

 _So today was the birthday party and it was_ _AWESOME_ _! I knew Mom and Dad were gonna make it Harry Potter 'cause I'm 11 now but they did such a cool job. There was Diagon Alley with Ollivander's and the Apothecary where we got vials of ingredients. And then we played games like racing our Firebolts and pin the Quaffle on the hoop. And we even did house points too 'cause we were all from one house each. I never had so much fun before. And then we were all dressed up and… I need to ask Dad more words, I loved it and I'm gonna remember it forever._

 _And then there were presents, everything Harry Potter but that's okay. Luckily I love Harry Potter, so I liked everything. It was so nice. But I think the best is the chess set my whole family gave me. It has the houses on it and stuff like the Quidditch stands, so neat. I played with Mari against my Dad and Peter and we won though Dad was helping all of us. It was so great and Mom just came into my room so all I have to say is this birthday is still going 'cause Mari's spending the night. Night!_

Turning to her mother after she had put away her diary and pen Julia asked, "What's wrong? And why is Mari still downstairs?"

Smiling as she wasn't surprised her daughter had figured out something was up Beckett said, "I came to give you my gift."

"Don't you mean from you and Dad?" Julia asked, looking over the door as she expected him to come inside.

"The chess set was his idea," Beckett said simply. "This is from just me."

Julia went over to the mother, petting Macca, JoJo and Max on the way as they'd been lying on her rug on her floor while she wrote. She shyly took the gift her mother handed her and set it on the bed to tear it open. When she saw the book inside she smiled at her mother and then picked it up, seeing that the cover was right, they were all pictures of just her and Beckett. "I love you Mommy," she said, wrapping her arms around her neck tightly.

"I love you too sweetie, so much," Beckett said as she embraced her. She was touched at her daughter calling her mommy again but knew it was for the moment. "I wanted to give you this on my own. And let you know that your dad and I do have a gift for you. Rick."

"I knew it," Julia said with a laugh as her father came in with Mari.

"Close your eyes, we didn't wrap this one," Castle said, reaching into the inside pocket of his blazer. He pulled out a picture and once he was holding it in front of the girl said, "Open."

"Happy Birthday sweetie," Beckett said as Julia looked at the two of them in shock.

"Your own saddle!" Mari said, hugging her friend tightly as she still seemed to be in shock.

"It was time," Beckett replied. "At eleven I can't really deny you're tall enough and big enough for one of your own. Your dad can-"

"I'll wait until you can go riding again," Julia interrupted her, hugging her again. "Thank you," she then said. "Will you ride with me after that?"

"I will," Castle said with a slight smile. "Don't worry. But I hate to say it-"

"We need to go to bed," Julia and Mari said at the same time. They looked at each other and smiled before Julia hugged her father tightly telling him, "Night Dad, I love you. And thank you again."

"You're welcome and of course I love you too," Castle said with a smile before he leaned down to share a kiss with her. "Glad you're not too old for that."

Julia smiled and squeezed him one more time before going to Beckett and embracing her tightly saying, "Thank you again Mom. I put in my diary my birthday was awesome. My birthday and my party too."

"I'm glad to hear that since that's what we intended," Beckett replied. When Julia pulled away from her she smiled and cupped her daughter's cheek tenderly before telling her, "We wanted you to have as much fun as you could."

"I did, _a lot_ ," Julia said seriously with a nod and wide eyes, emphasizing the last two words. She smiled when her mother laughed, and they hugged again before she pulled back again to share a kiss with her. "I love you Mom, you are the best one I'm not kidding," she said seriously before sharing a smile with her mother.

"I love you too Julia," Beckett replied. "And I'm very glad you're my daughter." She took her daughter back into her arms again and they embraced tightly one more before she shared a kiss with her.

After her parents had said goodnight to Mari and then her Julia climbed up onto the bed with her friend before her mother tucked them in. When her parents had left them, she was startled when Mari touched her arm and she sat up with her asking, "What is it?"

"You had a really nice birthday," Mari said.

"So will you," Julia said with a smile. "Ask your parents to have a Harry Potter birthday party next year."

"I already did when you told me you were gonna do that," Mari replied. "No, I wanted to say I'm sorry I didn't give you a gift."

With a frown Julia said, "You did, the puzzle, Harry and Hermione and the bag. You didn't have to get me something else."

"I wanted to, you're my best friend and I wanted it to be special," Mari tried to explain. When she saw that her friend looked confused she then smiled and said, "Just from me."

"Oh well… I thought of those presents from you first and then from your family," Julia said thoughtfully. "Don't worry, it was great today."

"Yeah, we're going to dress up like that for Halloween?" Mari asked.

"I will," Julia replied. "But I'll be wearing my costume in the seventh grade," she told her, gulping exaggeratedly.

Mari giggled and said, "I forgot about that. I'm gonna miss you though."

"Me too but we'll meet in the quad before dance classes," Julia said. She made a face at the same time as her friend and said, "I know, that's not the same. But we'll still be friends." When Mari looked a little uncomfortable she asked, "Now what?"

Sighing the little girl said, "You like Ava, don't you?"

"She's nice and she's fun to play with," Julia replied, putting her arm around her friend's shoulder. "But you're my _best_ friend and that's different remember."

"But you're older than me and-" Mari started to say before her friend wrapped her arms around her. She sighed and then said, "Sorry."

"It's okay, I worry too," Julia said before they let go of each other. "I worry that you're gonna find another best friend in your classes."

Shaking her head rapidly Mari said, "I won't, you're my first friend and my first best friend." She and Julia laughed softly together before they were quiet to hear if anyone was coming to check on them. But when there wasn't any noise of footsteps approaching them she said, "We have to go to sleep don't we?"

"Yeah but tomorrow we have a lot of time to play," Julia replied.

"Good, I can't wait," Mari said. She then smiled at her friend and leaned over, kissing her cheek saying, "Happy Birthday Julia."

Watching at Mari as she laid down Julia touched her cheek and then smiled widely before she lay down as well. As she closed her eyes she thought that that last gift was the perfect one from her best friend and she soon fell asleep, very happy and looking forward to the next day she would spend with Mari and her family.

* * *

Walking around the side of the bed Castle was a little startled when he caught sight of his wife and he said, "Kate?"

"I'm alright," Beckett said quickly, trying to brush the tears off her cheeks. "Just…"

"No, I understand," Castle said as he saw she was looking at the copy of the book she'd given to Julia earlier; wanting a copy for herself and him. He carefully took the book out of her hands and handed her one of his handkerchiefs he'd grabbed walking around to her side of the bed. "The book was a great idea," he told her.

Smiling Beckett said, "She's past ten now so I wanted to go back a little bit."

"I'm not surprised," Castle said. "But you know why you're crying right?"

"Outright crying?" Beckett shot back in amusement. When he didn't say anything, she laughed softly and then said, "I know, though even if I wasn't pregnant I'd still be choked up." She sighed deeply and said, "My little girl is growing up."

"She is but she's growing up to be a great young lady," Castle said.

"She's my daughter but she's not me," Beckett said wryly as he looked at her pointedly. "I don't know that she'd want to look at a motorcycle let alone own one."

"True," Castle replied. "Though I don't know if she'd be like Alexis."

"Somewhere in the middle?" Beckett asked.

"I would hope so," Castle said before they smiled at each other.

"So now we have our little girl's party done," Beckett said, smiling when her husband did so at her at her using our that time. "We have much more to look forward to." When he didn't say anything, she was a little startled but he then leaned over to her and she realized why he hadn't.

Kissing his wife deeply Castle didn't stop until they were both completely breathless and when he made himself pull away from her he told her, "I've been wanting to do that since this morning."

"I'm not surprised," Beckett replied with a smile.

"Are you comfortable?" Castle asked her.

"Yes," Beckett said.

"Good," Castle told her quickly before he leaned over to her, kissing her hard again. He sank his tongue into her mouth, tangling around it quickly before he realized her right hand was underneath his shirt. "You-" he started to say when she pushed on the back of his head to bring him down to her.

After dueling a bit Beckett moved away from him and said with a smile, "Do you think we could play around a little?"

"That would be nice," Castle said quickly.

"Good," Beckett replied before she sat up with her husband's help. Her shirt came off and she watched as he reached for her abdomen immediately, kissing around it before she gently tugged on his hair to make him look up at her, looking at him pointedly as he met her gaze.

Understanding what she meant straightaway, Castle helped his wife get up and he let her remove the last of her clothes before he reached for her and placed his hand on her stomach again. "I can't resist," he told her with a smile.

"I don't mind," Beckett said as the baby was kicking a little.

Standing up Castle wrapped his arms around his wife and pulled her close before he kissed her deeply. But it didn't last very long as she was carefully pushing him away from her enough so she could grab the bottom of his shirt. It took very little time for them both to get him undressed and as soon as she was on the bed he was kissing her before she could even lean back against the pillows. While she held onto him he kissed her as hungrily as he could, relieved when she responded to him passionately. He felt her hands all around his back and enjoyed that before he was ripping himself away as she squeezed his ass almost possessively. "Can I call you pervert now?" he asked her.

"No," Beckett said. "Hurry and play."

Nodding; as he knew that was her hormones helping her gather some energy; Castle brushed his lips against her softly and murmured, "When I come-"

"You'll be inside me," Beckett said. "I want that just for a little."

"You'll have it," Castle said, his voice even huskier. He kissed her once more but made sure he kept it short before he moved away and down to her neck. Nuzzling it at first, he then moved to her pulse to feel it underneath his lips, not surprised to find it was racing. He went to her other side to feel her pulse there as well before he finally let himself move down to her breasts. He made sure he kissed at her upper chest until he found her mounds and then began brushing his lips all around them.

Gasping in pleasure at the thrill her husband's touch gave her, Beckett had her hands holding onto the back of his head. She eventually started to caress his hair while he nuzzled both her nipples with his lips. "Rick-" she started to say before he captured her right one with his lips. As he rubbed the tip with his tongue she cried out fully and gave vent to what he was doing to her. Her entire body felt like it was throbbing though the most was centered directly at her sex. It was aching, and she wanted to tell Castle to hurry though she couldn't find it in herself to form the words. Luckily he was moving to her other breast so she was sure he'd be moving on soon. Eventually he pulled back and she said, "I forgot, I wanted us to-"

"Play with each other, I know," Castle said, nodding his head quickly. He moved up to kiss her yet again before he moved back and said, "We will soon." He knew she was going to ask him what he meant but before she could utter a word he ducked down on her and reached her sex. He got her legs over his shoulders and with that he nearly buried his face in between them as he went straight to her clit.

With a heavy moan of her husband's name Beckett let the heat of his mouth sucking on the swollen nub hit her full force. She arched her back but couldn't move that much as she felt Castle soon moving lower and she gasped out his name that time since she was startled at how fast he was moving. But she could recall what she'd been telling him she wanted to do so she didn't try and protest especially because she was enjoying it greatly.

Tasting his wife at first Castle was sure he was going to explode as his groin ached nearly painfully. He tried to push that thought aside while he was hungrily delving his tongue into her sex and tried to remember as well she wanted them to be together while they were each being pleasured. He tried his best not to forget and finally he felt he'd pleasured her enough with his tongue before he pulled away and got up on his left hand and knees, waiting for her to open her eyes as she was breathing heavily.

"Yes, I enjoyed that," Beckett said once she was finally looking at her husband. "And don't be so cocky."

"No double entendre with that?" Castle asked as he knew she realized he was heavily aroused.

"No," Beckett said simply before she reached down and curled her hand around his length. She breathed out a little at the heat and how firm it felt but was quickly distracted by her husband gently rubbing her clit with his right fingers. She let out a soft gasp and that spurred her to start running her hand up and down on him. "We could…" she started to say before she paused as she was a little affected still.

"Is it what you want?" Castle asked, nearly racing through his words as he was feeling a strong amount of pleasure at the slight friction her hand was providing him. When she shook her head once he kissed her hard as they moved over each other furiously. "Then we don't need to do that," he told her, startled when she nearly burst out into laughter though it was rapid.

"You took… a while to… say, t-to say that," Beckett breathed out as her husband's fingers slipped within her. "Oh Rick! I… please…"

"What do you want?" Castle asked her, moving to brush his lips over her jaw tenderly.

"I think I want you in me… just… please," Beckett moaned as she turned her head to the side. When her husband moved her hand away from him she didn't try to stop him, watching him as he moved to slide within her very slowly. She was crying out heavily, wrapping her legs around his until they were fully coupled. "Do whatever you want," she breathed out to him as he was kissing around her breasts gently.

Castle wanted to tell her to say instead but as he looked at her he could see what she wanted so he moved very carefully at first, testing to see if she was okay with that. When she arched her back slightly he kept at that pace as he had been able to feel her stomach brushing against his own. He couldn't forget the baby and as he moved a little harder he made sure that only lasted for two quick, rapid thrusts.

When her husband went back to moving gently Beckett said, "That's… that's perfect."

"Good…" Castle started to say before he was groaning heavily in pleasure. He leaned down enough so he could kiss her, and she was there to meet him before they were tilting their heads back and forth as much as they could until he moved away. He went straight to her neck and sucked on it hard, not sure what made him do that but as she was digging her nails into his shoulders he knew she was enjoying it. When he made himself move away he then kissed her again and they were almost literally fighting as every so often he was interspersing his slower thrust with a few that were harder.

Feeling her body was a mass of flames Beckett wasn't sure she would be able to really last for all that long as it was overwhelming her. But when he moved faster the friction between them increased and she was begging him to make her come. She couldn't stop the groan that left her when he slowed down even more, and she told him, "Rick I… I can't move anymore," though she'd lost her strength to thrust long before.

"I'll take care of you Kate," Castle said huskily as he watched her. He was feeling her as well since she was writhing against him and her head was tilting back and forth even though he was going slower. He watched her adoringly while he thrust harder a few times, her head tilting back far and making his mouth water as he looked at her neck that was exposed. He couldn't stop himself and he nibbled at it again, sucking gently where her pulse was until she was trying to push him away. "You're going to come, aren't you?" he asked. When she only nodded he told her, " _Inis dom_ Kate."

"Oh…" Beckett began as he'd told her to tell him. " _Ná stad_ ," she said as she begged him not to stop.

"Tell me you're going to come love," Castle said forcefully though he found it hard as he was dealing with everything he was feeling as well.

"I-" Beckett started to say before her orgasm struck her and she arched her back roughly as for a moment everything stopped. But that didn't last very long, and she held her husband before she soon felt him joining her. She ran her hands over his back the best she could as he was moving rapidly and when she finally calmed down she simply held him before he was thrusting twice hard and his muscles relaxed as he slumped though not on her. "I still felt like doing that," she told her husband when she felt recovered enough to speak.

"Don't worry," Castle assured her as he raised his head. "I was okay with just us playing around together. I was last time."

Beckett smiled as she recalled her previous pregnancy and how she'd been the same and she'd lost her desire to move that much but not the desire she had for her husband. "I'm glad to hear that because I get the feeling it'll be like that for a while," she told him.

Castle brushed his lips against his wife's and then carefully moved away from her, holding onto her tightly and pulling her to him. "How're you feeling now?" he asked as he kicked the covers up enough so he could grab them and pull them over the two of them.

"Better because I was having a hard time through today," Beckett said. "My energy just…"

"Well we were working on the party," Castle said.

"You were, I was mostly lying down," Beckett pointed out.

"Yes, but it was still busy," Castle was quick to say. "If we'd spent the day reading or relaxing tonight would have been way different."

Beckett smiled and gently brushed her lips to her husband's jaw saying, "It was nice though."

"It was," Castle replied as he gently caressed her abdomen. He felt a tap under his hand at one pass and he said, "Now she's up."

"Or she realizes we're finished," Beckett told him in amusement. She covered the spot for a moment with her own hand and said, "So now that the birthday is over…"

"That's a trick question," Castle told her. When she just looked at him he smiled and said, "Spring Break or the baby."

"I was talking about Spring Break," Beckett replied.

"Are you sure about this?" Castle asked.

"And there's the stock response to my talking about next week," Beckett said jokingly. "And I'll give you the stock response, yes. I'm fine Rick I just can't go out over the falls."

"Oh… don't say that love," Castle replied. "Scary thing to think of."

"I wouldn't think of it even if I wasn't ballooning up," Beckett told him with a slight smile on her face.

"You're not ballooning," Castle said with an exaggerated sigh. He then smiled and said, "You planned that didn't you?"

"That was the hope," Beckett replied. She took her husband's kiss and reached up, gently cupping his cheek as she stroked his face at the same time with her thumb. When they parted finally she sighed and said, "I hate for the baby to hear me saying this, but I'll be glad when my stomach is out of the way."

"That just means you want her to be born," Castle told her. He then ducked down and went to her abdomen telling it, "She wants you to be with us. And really it's safer that way; I'm still worried about crushing you and your mom."

"You'd still be worried about crushing me if I wasn't pregnant," Beckett told him as he was kissing at her abdomen. She smiled briefly when he paused, and she told him, "I know you Rick."

With a sigh Castle said, "You do and it's hard not to be concerned when I'm as…"

"Husky?" Beckett suggested.

"That," Castle replied. "Especially when you're very petite compared to me. And don't," he began to say swiftly before she could speak. "Say that you aren't now or something like that because you still are in comparison to me. You're just accommodating our child."

Beckett decided she didn't want to say anything to that so instead she reached over for him, pulling him down to her so they could kiss one another. They did so deeply and when they pulled apart she told him, "You did an amazing job today."

"I tried my best," Castle said. "But don't sell yourself short you helped out a lot today too. The kids that won the games seem really happy with their prizes."

"Next year we'll do something like this," Beckett said, smiling at the compliment. "What I have no idea-"

"I do," Castle interrupted. When his wife looked at him he said, "What about a twenties themed costume birthday party?"

"That was a mouthful," Beckett said wryly.

"This too," Castle said as something in him spurred him to kiss her deeply. After he pulled away he said, "Thank you for your tongue," as she'd slipped hers into his mouth instead of the other way around as he'd originally planned.

"Happy to oblige," Beckett said before he was kissing her as hard as he could. When they stopped she smiled and said, "But it's an interesting idea. We should ask her about it tomorrow."

"I will," Castle said.

"Of course," Beckett said. She pulled him down to her and they shared a gentle kiss that time before she said, "I get the feeling it's…"

Looking at each other Castle and Beckett said, " _Fantastic Beasts_."

"We could," Castle said quickly. "That was definitely set in the twenties and they could still wear clothes from that time period."

"We'd have to get more creatures," Beckett said, smiling at how eager his voice became and how quickly as well.

"Not a problem," Castle said with a nod. "But yeah, we should ask her though-"

"She'll say yes," Beckett finished for him. "And this time I can help you plan."

"Kate-" Castle began with a sigh.

"You know I hate to be inactive," Beckett interrupted.

"Yes, but you have a reason to be a little more than usual," Castle pointed out. He wasn't surprised when his wife groaned in annoyance and he kissed her cheek before he moved down her body as he realized he'd forgotten to do something.

Looking on as her husband moved Beckett smiled and said, "You're so sure we're going to bed?"

Castle paused as he was pressing a kiss to his wife's stomach and he looked up at her asking, "We're not?"

"I don't think so but go ahead," Beckett replied, smiling down at him and gently cupping his cheek.

Trying not to breathe out too hard on his wife's skin Castle carefully kissed her abdomen again and said, "I'm going to make this really quick because your mom seems to need me." He smiled up at Beckett when she tugged lightly on his ear and then turned his attention back to the baby saying, "I love you little one, we can't wait to see you still." He gave a final kiss to her and wasn't startled when his wife grabbed him and pulled him up to her before they were kissing again. Though he told himself he knew already he still needed to make sure and he asked her, "Are you sure?"

"Very," Beckett said. She pulled him on top of her and told him, "I need you."

"So do I," Castle told her, his voice thick with arousal.

With very little effort Castle and Beckett were falling into their lovemaking, indulging in their desire after spending that day focusing on their oldest. Though they were both a little tired they couldn't stop themselves from needing each other and they didn't try to. They took as much time as they needed to indulge their craving and making sure they did everything they could to pleasure one another and to feel why it was exactly they were as good together as they always were.


End file.
